Eternity - Sequel to Humanity
by Rand0mSmil3z
Summary: Pitch swore he would get his revenge on Jack, but in his current state, he can barely keep his world alive. However, the king of nightmares has enough power to delve straight into Jack's memories, altering them to ones charged with fear. As Jack falls apart from the inside out, can Sandy - and the other Guardian's-save him and stop Pitch while they're at it? COVERART BY SIFBERG :D
1. Chapter 1

_Hello everyone! :D This is Rand0mSmil3z, and I'm back! Everyone had been asking me for a sequel to my first-ever story, Humanity, so here it is! I've read all of the story requests, thought of a decent plot, and - while I have yet to do the chapter outlines - I can definitely start the opening chapter! :D Now, with this story, I'm not uploading two chapters away. That was too hard hahaha, especially with school, so I'll try to upload at least three times a week, maybe more and maybe less. But I don't really know. _

_ Anyway, here is chapter one to Story Two of Humanity, Eternity! Please let me know what you think of it! :D (To those of you who haven't read Humanity yet, I suggest you read that before this story... some things might not make sense, though I'll _try _to keep it more-or-less understandable anyway.__ So, don't shoot me. (I shoot back :D)_

_Link to Humanity: s/8737827/1/Humanity_

* * *

_One Month After Humanity_

* * *

Pitch Black staggered to his cold, granite throne and slumped heavily onto the seat, gasping for air. It's been one month, _only _one month, yet he had gotten so weak that he could barely stand without having to brace against something. His legs felt like jello, his eyelids felt heavy, but the King of Nightmares did not sleep. No; he _never _slept, not with his own nightmares haunting the recesses of his mind. They were nightmares of the cold, of helplessness and pity, of that moment when your lifetime of work crumbles around you and all you can do is watch the fragments fall.

Pitch's gaunt, gray hand twisted into a fist. _And it's all Jack Frost's fault, _he thought venomously.

Jack Frost, that wretched Spirit of Winter, broke down his world like he breaks down heat and leaves ice instead. Jack Frost _betrayed _him, betrayed him in a way no one else good. Pitch was once strong, full of fear and life, and one winter spirit took it all away and left him with _nothing. _Jack tore down Pitch's world with a single phrase - _I'm not afraid of you. _

And now, while that child was out playing in the snow, Pitch Black was trapped in his own prison of stone and staircases, watching the metal globe as it burning with the flares of belief.

He hated those pinpricks of light, hated how the globe glowed when the sun went down. What he could give to turn everything back to the way it once was, when the globe was a lifeless, dead, hollow thing.

Suddenly Pitch smiled, a cruel smile, a smile that sent the shadows scurrying to their dark places. He _did _promise Jack that he would regret the day he was born.

He clenched his fist, drawing out the last of his power, and when he opened his hand a tiny Fearling spider scurried in his palm. It was a masterpiece, made out of entirely black sand. "Go," Pitch whispered, feeling drained. "Go find Jack Frost."

The spider leapt off of Pitch's hand, ejecting a thin black spider-web, and landed safely on the cold stone floor. From there it darted down a hallway, scurried up the wall and zipped down the ceiling.

_It will find its target, _Pitch sneered, resting his head on his hand. _It's only a matter of when._

* * *

Jack Frost sat perched in his pine tree, then raised his head and smiled at the sun above. He loved the sun and, surprisingly, enjoyed the warmth of the rays as well. He figured it was a side-effect of being human, not that he cared very much. The world around him was blanketed with a layer of white; it coated the pines, the ground, froze over his lake and stopped the creeks in its tracks. The sun sparkled against the snow like a thousand diamonds. Sure, it was a late snow storm, but who cared?

Jack smiled. He loved the snow.

"Wind!" he shouted, turning towards the North. The pine needles lightly shook when the wind came, and with a wild cry Jack was swept right off his feet. His snow-white hair whipped his forehead in the gale, and his icy-blue eyes shone with excitement.

Today was a big day; after all, today was Saturday. That meant Jamie didn't have that stupid thing called school or have to do that weird thing called _homework. _Honestly, Jack didn't understand the meaning of homework; why learn about something you don't use every day? The concept simply boggled his mind, and no matter how many times Jamie said that 'grades are important', he still didn't get it.

_But whatever, _he thought, turning down to the streets of Burgess below. A few cars, their tops frosted over, slowly drove down the streets as people wearing thick coats and scarves meandered down the sidewalks. At one time Jack thought if the people were roasting in their thick clothes, but now he understood. A dash of humanity does that to people. Every now and then Jack would put on a scarf, mostly just to look cool, but he _refused _to wear shoes. The blue shoes he had to wear before were awful... Jack still had nightmares about the blisters.

Then Jack saw it; the perfect prank in the making. Some guy was carrying some boxes into an apartment complex, and with a laugh and wave of his staff, Jack slicked over the sidewalk. The man took a step and slipped, then cried out as he fell. Boxes flew everywhere and the man fell into a snowdrift that was packed against the building. Jack laughed all the harder; the man's expression was _priceless. _

"What I would give for a camera," Jack grinned to himself, then continued on his merry way.

It wasn't long before he came up to Jamie's house. The kid's room was on the second floor, and Jack effortlessly flew up there and lightly tapped on the window. Jamie, diligently studying inside, broke out into a smile as he opened the door.

"Jack!" Jamie exclaimed. "You came!"

"Of course I came," Jack grinned, lightly landing inside Jamie's room. The carpet was soft on his feet. "I'm magical, remember? And I never break a promise."

"I remember," Jamie said, then suddenly clapped his hands excitedly. "Jack Jack Jack - check it out!" he nearly shouted, digging into his DVD collection. Jack arched an eyebrow; he wasn't used to this high-tech stuff. Sure, he could handle a microwave, but all he really knew how to use the thing for was to make instant popcorn. That, and the refrigerator. Who knew those things could only be opened from the outside? North had to pry him out of one once after he hid in there. But for good cause; he scared the living daylights out of a few unwary yetis digging around for the ice cream.

Jamie turned to Jack, handing him a DVD with strange red letters splattered on the front. "Paranormal 3," Jack read, then scowled and turned to Jamie. "What's this?"

Jamie's jaw dropped. "It's only, like, the scariest movie ever!" he exclaimed, then added in a quiet voice, "but don't tell my mom. I borrowed it from a friend and she, uh, kinda doesn't know. Okay? Keep it a secret?"

Jack smirked; he loved secrets. "Of course," he said. He still didn't really understand though; this stupid disk wasn't going to hurt anyway. He studied the DVD a little more; maybe it was some sort of fancy Frisbee that... scared the living jeepers out of people?

Jack scowled; he couldn't picture it, honestly.

"Here, give it to me?" Jamie asked, more like demanded, but Jack forked it over anyway. "I'll put it in, and... you close the door, okay?" With a small gust of wind, the door shut. "My parents are at Sophie's preschool," Jamie explained, grinning mischievously. "It's a parent-teacher conference thing or whatever."

"Cool," Jack said, plopping on the bed. He wasn't sure what that was either, but he figured that it was probably something stupid, like homework.

The small TV in Jamie's room suddenly flickered on, like magic, and some sort of menu button popped up. But soon that disappeared and was replaced with previews of stuff. Jack watched the screen, fascinated. He had only seen movies from windows, and even then only for a couple seconds as he passed by. Tooth didn't even know was a movie was, and Easter Bunny called them 'magical boxes of light.' North called them 'movies, for da childran,' in his Russian accent, but shooed Jack away everytime he asked about it. Why? Because 'I need dem for Chreestmas,' as North liked to put it.

Party-pooper.

"Hey Jack, have you ever seen this movie?" Jamie asked, plopping on the bed next to him. His brown eyes were wide with a little bit of excitement, but also a little bit of nervous energy.

Jack shrugged. "Maybe for a few seconds. I don't really know."

"Well," Jamie grinned, "my friend said it was _awesome."_

Jack grinned, got comfortable, and began to watched the movie.

* * *

The Fearling could smell the frost in the way. It wasn't too hard to follow the scent; after all, all it had to do was follow the ice patches, assorted chaos, and a path of snow.

Then, as the setting sun was just beginning to stain the sky orange and red and color the snow like frozen flames, it found the spot. It snuggled up against the window frame and dangled one long, black thread in front of it. When Jack barreled out of the room, the spider would be ready.

It just had to be patient.

* * *

The character on the screen nervously opened up the front door. "Hello?" she whispered, peeking this way and that? Jamie was hugging his covers, eyes wide, glued to the images on the screen.

Jack, however, was not as easily impressed. "Hello?" he scowled, turning to Jamie. "Hello? What does she mean, 'hello?' What's the ghost or whatever supposed to say? 'Hey, I'm in the second floor murdering your family, want some ice cream?'"

"I-I dunno," Jamie mumbled, then jumped when something flew past the camera and disappeared down a hallway.

Jack scowled._ This girl is stupid, _he thought. _If she listened to _me, _she wouldn't be about to die right now. _But he continued to watch, commenting here and there about how dumb the main character was and what she _should _have done.

Without warning Jamie's bedroom door slammed open. Both boys shouted in surprise and jumped ten feet back on the bed, utterly freaked out. But Jamie's horror was multiplied by a hundred when he saw his mom there, leaning against the door with a scowl painted on her face.

"And what are you doing, young man?" she scowled, getting up and turning off the TV. Jack let out a breath of relief, thankful that the scariest thing in the room, Jamie's mom, couldn't see him.

"Uh... nothing?" Jamie squeaked out.

"You _know _you're not allowed to watch these kinds of movies," she pointed out, scowling at Jamie the entire time.

Jack glanced at the both of them, then whispered to Jamie, "I'm going to go, okay?" Jamie nodded, and before Jack left he placed a small frozen snowflake on the window before jumping into the night air.

Something stuck to his face, but Jack casually wiped it away without a second thought. The sun was setting now; when morning came, all of his snow would melt. It was a sad thought, but the seasons changed. Jack took a deep breath of the cold air; next year he'll come back. _Maybe do it with a bang, _he thought, grinning at the thought. _"It could be the great blizzard of '13..."_

Suddenly something small bit him. Jack flinched and slapped at his neck. When he drew his hand back, black sand crumbled down his fingertips.

Instantly panicked seized him. _Pitch Black, _he thought, worms squirming in his gut. He turned towards the North Pole and began to head there, flying faster than any regular airplane. He had to tell North, had to tell the other Guardian's, that Pitch...

Then the pain hit, the head-splitting pain that knocked Jack out of the sky and sent him tumbling to the frozen ground below. He hit the snow, sending the white powder flying everywhere, and gasped. It felt like fire ran through his cold veins, searing him in a way that didn't seem possible. His staff trembled in his hand as he fought to stay conscious.

_I have to warn North, _he thought, repeated to himself.

_I have to warn North. _

_ I have to warn North. _

_ I have..._

Jack's head limply fell into the snow and he sank into unconsciousness.

* * *

_ Tada! End of the first chapter! So, tell me people, was it okay? Good? Bad? Ugly? (xD) Is the plot decent? Please let me know, I've never done a sequel before! By the way, I love reading reviews, all of them, and would love to hear any ideas you have for this story! Like I said, I haven't quite finished the chapter outlines so it's not too late to incorporate your ideas into Eternity! :) _

_ Thank you!_

_ Rand0mSmil3z_

_ :D_


	2. Chapter 2

_Only two more weeks until Winter Break...! (well, for most of us in the States at least.) Gah. That's two too many weeks. BUT WE CAN SURVIVE PEOPLE! D:{ Oh yes. _

_ Anyway, holy shmokes! :D :D I can't believe Eternity already has 50+ followers! Ahhh I love you guys! Seriously, you are all amazing. Stay awesome! :D Now, time for the replies!_

_ TheBlackPhantom: YOU'RE BAAACK! :D :D :D Hahaha true, I ignored your advice to take a break xD But I appreciate the worry though *hug* But there's no need to worry! I recovered from my cold (FINALLY) and yeah! :D :D And DUDE. 0_0 That's actually an incredible idea. It would lengthen this story considerably, but... sfhqhfmq I'll definitely work on that! That's brilliant! And omigosh you're so sweet! :D Thank you so much! Ahhh I love reading your reviews!_

_ xXDivinity16Xx: No worries! I sometimes use my phone to write (yes, I'm that much of a dork hahaha) and it's seriously HARD. Congrats on the computer though! :D :D_

_ Lightningpool: Didn't I promise that I would see everyone again soon!? xD Granted, I didn't think THIS soon, but... tada! As for your idea, you hit the nail right on the head! :D Though perhaps not endless, the nightmares WILL be altering his memories slightly... but which ones? (DUHDUHDUUUUUH...!)_

_ Guest: Hahaha I'm glad you liked that part! xD And I wonder the same exact thing too! Like, you NEVER shout hello when the house is dark, creepy, and overall seriously sketchy! Ugh. And yep! Lots of Sandy - Jack interaction, but the family - brother bond kind, not the slash allow-me-to-inhale-your-face type of stuff. Blech. _

_ Crystal Peak: I actually have no clue how old Jamie is, but I do know that he is MUCH too young to watch Paranormal Activity 3. Give him a decade or so, then MAYBE... xD_

_ Angie In RandomLand: You're right, you are the first review! xD *hands you a cookie* _

_ Jzaaa: Omigoodness. I could not stop laughing. I'm still laughing, in a matter of fact. xD That was the most glorious thing I've ever read. The icepack... hahahahahahahaha_

_ Okay! Those are all the reviews for now! :D Time to get writing! Now, without further ado, let's begin chapter 2! (HOLY HELICOPTER THAT RHYMED!)_

* * *

Sandy floated above the world, a content smile on his golden face. Thin streams of his golden sand arched through the air in elegant curls, lighting up the sky like a thousand glistening rivers. Below, no one was aware of the Sandman's work; they knew, but they didn't know _why. _But Sandy was content with that; after all, he was never the flashy sort like North or Bunnymund. He preferred the silence of the night, the behind-the-stage approach to changing the world.

One tendril of light weaved its way to him and Sandy lightly tapped on it. A small boy, made entirely out of golden sand, jumped out of the stream and ran through the air. It was a game of soccer, but the boy looked like he was struggled. With a soft smile Sandy manipulated the dream so that, without warning, the game turned into the World Championship and the child had a straight run to the goal. He ran, faster and faster, smile spreading on his golden face...

Score. The dream boy threw his arms into the air, silently hollering to the massive crowd, as he singlehandedly won the game.

Sand smiled, then let the dream continue on its way. Suddenly he felt it, the soft sigh of a sleeping child, and he quickly tapped against his golden cloud of sand. Out came another stream that gracefully weaved through the air.

This time a small ballerina jumped up at him, twirling to herself and silently singing. Sandy made it so that the girl was now on stage with the leading roll, twisting and turning through the air as if she was as elegant and weightless as a bird.

With another soft smile, Sandy sent the dream on its way.

The air was crisp and cool, and the snow below sparkled in the moonlight like fallen drops of silver, dying the world a pale blue. Sandy knew that this was Jack Frost's work. He liked the child, so innocent and free, who still possessed the courage to dream above and beyond the stars that dotted the night sky. Jack managed to grow on everyone, even stubborn Bunnymund who still wouldn't admit how worried he was when Jack Frost disappeared during the battle with Pitch Black.

Sandy tossed his streams of dream sand through the hair, connecting with the minds and dreams of the children. Though it was hard work, Sandy loved his job. He loved feeling the hopes and dreams of the mortal children that dotted the world. Over the years he realized that every child was unique and different, each possessing a different dream and a different path to reach their highest goals. Sometimes, Sandy figured that the children, the children he protected, were the ones that were teaching him all of the lessons on life. After all, their lives were all so short, almost like sparks. Even now, centuries later, Sandy was still amazed at the amazing things those little sparks could accomplish. It made him feel small.

_Well, _he thought with a slight frown, _smaller._

Suddenly he felt an alien dream brush against him. This was no mind of a child; this mind was ancient and surprisingly wise, given that it was also so painfully innocent. He lightly tapped on the golden thread. There was a boy running down a path, followed by a young girl. They were running, running away from something...

And then the boy turned to face Sandy, and his breath caught in his throat. _Jack. _Sandy immediately began to descend to the bleached-white world below. It would be easy to find Jack; he just had to follow the golden trail of sand.

* * *

"We're going to be late," Pippa pouted beside Jack. Her small hand was woven in his. Jack couldn't help but chuckle.

"Well, we can't run, now can we?" Jack pointed out. "You'll ruin your dress." Pippa only scowled in her sunday-best. It was a yellow dress, complete with gloves and small leather boots. She had loved it just a moment ago, laughing and dancing in the road and shouting at Jack to play tag with her.

"Mom and Dad are going to be mad," Pippa frowned.

Jack laughed and ruffled her brown hair. "Will not," he teased, "because I'll blame it all on you."

"Jack, don't!" Pippa shouted, glaring at him. "It's not my fault!"

"I know, I know," Jack said. "I'm only teasing. How about this," he added. "Once the wedding is over, let's go buy some sweet cakes okay?"

All of Pippa's grumpiness left in that instant. "Really?" she asked, eyes bright with excitement.

"Promise," Jack laughed. Pippa wove her hand in his again and they continued down the stone road. Snow had fallen on top during the night, but many people have walked across it since then, stamping the snow and dying it a muddy color. Small crystal icicles hung from the lowest pine branches; here and there Jack would break a couple off, hand one to his sister, and eat the other. They were nature's flavorless popsicles.

Suddenly Jack's neck flared in pain and he winced, dropping the icicle. It landed in the snow with a dull thud, cracking it in two.

"Jack," Pippa said with a light frown, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Jack said, forcing a grin. For some reason his neck hurt... did he work too hard yesterday, or...?

Suddenly everything got really bright, blinding Jack. He squeezed his eyes shut, but when he opened his eye again the scene was different. The forest was more ominous now, deadly and secretive, like the pine branches would reach down and pluck him off the road. Then he realized; Pippa wasn't holding his hand anymore.

"Pippa!" Jack shouted, spinning around. In that moment he wish he was wearing his usual comfortable clothes; the suit he was wearing was wearing was much too baggy. Then again, at one point it was his fathers, back when he was slightly smaller. But Jack had always been skinny for his age; his mother teased him that he was a twig.

"Pippa!" Jack shouted again, turning this way and that. The forest was slowly getting darker, as if a heavy black mist sank down on top of the trees. His neck pulsed with pain, but he ignored it as he dashed into the dark of the forest, calling his sister's name.

Suddenly he heard a snarl, like a wolf's snarl, and when he turned he was staring face-to-face with one. Jack's heart skipped a beat and he took a shaky step backward. The wolf was gray, the same exact color of storm clouds, with bright, yellow eyes. In his snout was a fragment of yellow linen, almost like it was a part of Pippa's dress.

_No- it is, _Jack realized. Anger replaced the fear in an instant. Without warning the wolf turned and ran into the black fog, and Jack didn't hesitate to follow. Branches whipped past his face as his footsteps sank into the snow. But he was beginning to notice some red speckles on the ground too, almost as if a scarlet rose had bled out in the bleached-white snow.

His heart hammered in his chest, his breathes coming in short gasps. Suddenly the wolf stopped, then turned around and - to Jack's surprise - smiled and turned to black sand, vanishing with the wind. Behind the wolf was...

_"Pippa!" _Jack screamed, launching himself towards her. Her face was pale, her brown eyes dull and unseeing, her face frozen in a look of pure fear. Red stained the front of her dress, and the tears gathered in Jack's brown eyes.

Suddenly something golden filtered down from the trees above. He glanced up; they looked like star dust raining down on top of him, flecking his brown hair was gold and getting into his eyelashes. The dark fog was slinking away as well, and the forest didn't seem so ominous anymore. Jack blinked, eyes watery, and turned back down to his sister.

To his immense surprise, she was okay again. There was no more red, no more fear, and no more pain. "_Jack," _she said, _"We're going to be late." _But her voice sounded strange, as if it was being filtered through water.

"But you just got..." Jack paused. _She was just... _he didn't know. He couldn't even remember. Pippa suddenly laughed and wrapped her skinny little arms around his neck.

_"Let's play a game!" _she laughed. Her voice echoed in the air, and Jack blinked once before replying.

"Okay," he said with a smile, and she wove her small hand in his again.

* * *

Sandy took a deep breath. Jack Frost was motionless on the ground below him, white hair partially covering his closed eyes. He was lying in a sort of divot in the ground, almost as if he hit the snow at a high speed. But that didn't matter; for the moment, Jack wouldn't lose a piece of his memories. _That was close, _Sandy thought. _Too close. _Just a moment more and...

Sandy shook his golden head. He didn't want to think about it.

He gently pulled the hoodie back slightly, revealing the spider bite he had just discovered. It was a demonic thing, darkening Jack's veins so they starkly stood out against his pale skin. Sandy sighed; this boy always knew how to find trouble.

Suddenly Jack opened his sapphire blue eyes. "Wha...?" he said sleepily, then yawned. "Sandy... whadya doin' here...?"

Little pictures popped over Sandy's head; first a cloud, then an arrow, then a snowflake.

"Er... thanks," Jack said, sitting back down into the snow. It was obvious to Sandy that he still didn't know what was going on, but Sandy had gotten used to not being understood already. It was a difficult life, not being able to talk.

But Sandy had to discover one thing first. He pointed to Jack, and at the same time a question mark appeared over his golden head.

Jack blinked, then the light bulb went on. "Oh, I'm here because I was going to..." Suddenly he scowled. "Going to..." Sandy watched as the gears turned in Jack's mind, idly amused before the boy burst out, "I can't remember."

Sandy scowled. Jack was an aloof spirit, sure, but his memory wasn't _that _bad. Any worse and he could plan his own surprise party. But one thing was for certain; this wasn't normal, not even for Jack. Maybe it was the side-effects of Jack's fall to humanity? Well, Sandy wasn't sure, but it would be stupid to let it slide. Above his head a picture of a Christmas present formed.

"North?" Jack asked. Sandy violently shook his head and made a picture of an airplane. "Go... to North?" Sandy nodded once again, then pulled Jack back to his feet and patted the cloud, then formed an image of a gun over his head, grinning all the while. The message was clear; get on or I'll shoot. Jack only laughed and climbed on board, sitting down next to the Sandman.

Before long they were soaring over the winter landscape underneath them. They were do high up that the village lights looked more like stars twinkling on the ground. Jack took a deep breath, relishing the freezing-cold air.

Yet at the same time, worry squirmed in his gut. His neck still pulsed with pain, and he didn't miss Sandy eyeing it with a scowl. _Now what's wrong, _Jack wondered, leaning back on the cloud of golden sand. Sandy glanced over to him, a worried expression plastered on his face.

And Jack couldn't help but wonder one other thing; why does all of the crazy stuff always seem to happen to _him?_

* * *

_ I mean, it's true, right? Poor Jack! D:_

_ Anyway! There was a line in there, something about having such short-term memory loss that Jack could plan his own surprise party? Unfortunately, that's not my quote (but I wish it was!) It's actually from a meme of some sort, and it was so awesome and fit in so perfectly that I used it. But still, kudos to the guy who made that one up! You are BRILLIANT, whoever you are!_

_ So, I'm looking at my story and the ideas for this story and some of your ideas (those who shared with me! :D) for this story, and this might be longer than Humanity. I'm still not sure on that. _

_ BUT WE'LL SEE! :D :D :D_

_ Anyway, see you all next chapter (I hope! :D)_

_ Rand0mSmil3z_

_ :D_

_ PS- I posted two links, one on Humanity on the other on chapter one of Eternity, and for some reason they didn't work. I don't know why, but I'm too lazy to take them down. =_= Maybe I should change my name to Rand0m_Procrastinator hahaha_

_ PPS- Pippa, Jack's little sister, will be known as Pippa until someone proves me wrong. But until then, expect Pippa in the near future! :D_


	3. Chapter 3

_Here I was babysitting, and whadaya know? The parents decided to come home early! And that means that I get to upload! :D Other than that, my brain has just been totally fried from a statistics test today. It was terrible, but I'm pretty sure I nailed that sucker }:D That's always a good feeling hahaha_

_ Anyway, reply time!_

_ CrossNavy: hahahaha no problem! :D :D I'm so happy you're liking this story so far! :D_

_ GlassGazer: :D :D :D :D :D_

_ TheBlackPhantom: Yesss I love reading long reviews! :D :D :D They're so awesome! And yep! I recovered from my death-cold... honestly, I woke up one morning and it was like *GASP* I CAN BREATHE! And yeah, in this story I'll be delving into what Jack was like while he was still Jackson instead of Jack Frost. :) The movie only had a few snips of him, which was a NOOOOOOO...! type of moment. And I'll definitely try to use your idea! :D You have wonderful ideas!_

_ ADreamWalker: Hun, I'm uploading as fast as I can! Once a day is actually pretty hard. D: Unfortunately, along with this story (which I love writing, by the way! :D) I also have this thing called school, homework, AP classes, college essays, college courses, a job, a little brother, another novel I'm writing and going to publish, Christmas shopping, and a life in general that happens to get in the way. In short, I'm writing as fast as I can! D: D: Once everything calms down I'll try to upload twice a day, but... that won't happen for a while :( Sorry!_

_ dragonwitch250: No worries! :D I see North as Jack's father-figure, so you'll see some of that, and I see Bunnymund as the grouchy uncle that has a secret soft side... but that's just me! :D_

_ LaZy-RaIn-DaNcEr: Hahahaha I'll try to answer all of your questions as the story continues! (And yes. Your idea helped me a lot! :D :D :D Thank you for that!)_

_ Janazza: Hahaha yeah... I'm pretty bad with the typos. xD I end up writing so fast that I blur all the words over, and it basically goes downhill from there. In short, I'll do my best to keep those nasty grammar errors to a minimum!_

_ To everyone else that replied but I didn't get to you- I'm sorry! D: D: D: As I'm writing these words, Eternity only has two chapters but there are already 44 reviews! :D :D :D That's incredible you guys! Omigosh I love you all! Trust me, I read every single one and each and every one of them makes me grin! :D Honestly, with Eternity and Humanity combined, I haven't gotten a single bad review out of 500+. NOT ONE. That's like, insane. And I love you all for it! :D :D_

_ Just a heads up, this chapter is going to be like a buffer-chapter. It's terrible, I know, but it has to be here. That said, I'll work extra-hard on chapter four to make it all worthwhile :D_

_ And on that note, let chapter 3 begin!_

* * *

Santoff Clausen, also known as Santa's Factory, the Toy Shop, the castle of the North Pole. The snow never melted here, always chilling the air and coating the tall spires of Santoff Clausen in sheets of white. In the frosted windows, if you peeked inside, you could see tiny elves wearing pointed hats and yetis meandering down warmly-lit halls.

"And you're sure you feel fine?" North's face was inches away from Jack's, his white beard nearly touching Jack's nose.

Jack backed away, his scowl deepening. "I'm _fine," _he protested. He sat perched on North's desk, staff casually leaning against his shoulder. Sandy hovered beside him, waving his arms with images of golden sand flashing above his head. Jack had long ago stopped trying to interoperate but North, having known Sandy personally longer, was able to translate just fine.

North arched an eyebrow at Sandy, who made an image of a snowflake that was slowly beginning to melt. North jerked his head back to Jack. "But Sandy here says you had fainted," the big Russian said slowly.

At that, Jack looked away and decided to frown at his hot chocolate, which was cupped in his hands, instead. Well, it wasn't really 'hot' chocolate anymore; it had long ago cooled in his chill hands, but the marshmallows were still half-melted and overall amazing. He lightly pulled one out with his fingers and stuck the gooey mess in his mouth.

" 'Ike I 'ed," Jack muttered between mouthfuls of the cold hot chocolate. "I 'eel," -he swallowed, "- _fine." _

North scowled, crossing his arms on his chest. Behind him, two small elves decided that that was the perfect moment to walk inside of North's office. They balanced delicate trays of cookies on their small hands at the pattered on the floor. North absentmindedly reached down and grabbed one; it happened to be a sugar cookie. Sandy only violently shook his head and made an image of a set of fangs, then pointed to Jack's neck.

North glanced from Sandy, then back to Jack. "What's on your neck?" he asked, voice low.

Jack scowled, fidgeting slightly on the desk. He knew what was there; he remembered something _biting _him, and though he couldn't remember much after that he did know that all North would do is worry about it. Frankly, Jack didn't want North to have to worry about him anymore, _especially_ after the big man gave his life up for him. Jack scowled at his cup, now empty. Making North worry just didn't seem right.

So all he said was, "There's nothing there." But he turned away to hide his face, so North couldn't see his blue eyes filled with shame. _How come this stuff always happens to me? _he wondered, peeking at Sandy and North underneath his white bangs. _I mean, _they _never have any problems. _

So he asked himself again: _Why me?_

North scowled as Jack clamped up; he knew, deep in his famous belly, that Jack wouldn't show him. He also knew that the boy didn't want others to worry about him, that he wanted to be strong and independent. But what North wanted to get across that Jack _didn't _have to be alone anymore.

"Well," he said slowly, "want to stay the night?"

At that Jack's head snapped to North, his blue eyes brightening. "Really?" he asked, jumping off the desk. Sandy shook his head, trying to catch their attention, but ended up being ignored as North ushered Jack out of his office.

"Of course!" North laughed, patting the boy's back. "I even have a room for you."

Jack's sapphire eyes widened. "I get a _room?!"_

"Yes," North said with a smile. "I show you."

With that they traversed down the hallways. Here and there Jack slicked the floor, startling any unwary elf as they slipped and rolled down the hall like a bowling ball. The yetis slipped as well, but they always managed to catch their balance at the last moment and glared holes into the back of Jack's head. But the young winter spirit barely seemed to notice as he turned his head this way and that, trying to absorb all of the scenes at once.

He loved Santoff Clausen. He loved how toys randomly flew into the air, even the ones that he never dreamed that could. He loved how this place always smelled of peppermint and cookies and the crisp pine scent of _winter. _He loved the cold, he loved the snow, he loved the wooden walls and floor. He loved everything about this place, about this place brimmed to the top with wonder.

After a time they managed to make it to a certain hallway. Jack recognized this place as the place he ran to right after Pitch broke his staff and he woke up here. They weren't exactly the most pleasant of memories, but he swallowed his unease as he and North unease walked down the hall.

Suddenly North stopped at a familiar door and pushed it open. "Look familiar?" he asked with a grin.

Jack couldn't help his own grin. "Yeah," he said, stepping into _his _room. Instead of all the furniture that was covered with dusty white sheets, there was a bed, a nightstand, and a small table. There was a new rug on the floor, and Jack noted with delight that the window had been cleaned. Now the filtered through the panes as if the sun descended into his very room.

"Do you like it?" North asked, beaming. Even Sandy, who was just a moment ago annoyed with North's flippant attitude, was smiling.

Jack turned to face them, grinning from ear to ear. "Yeah," he said, then glanced at the wooden floor. "But it needs a little more..." Without warning he gently tapped his staff against the floor and frost quickly spider-webbed across its surface, creating intricate patterns laced with silver. It coated the walls, giving them an almost metallic appearance, and icicles soon formed over the window. It was almost a winter wonderland, except condensed into a single room that was rapidly turned white with ice.

Jack studied his work. "Perfect," he decided, immensely satisfied. North only blinked, then burst out laughing.

"Well," he said, chuckling, "I guess that works just fine." Jack grinned at him, though was startled when North ruffed his white hair. Jack glanced up at the big man, eyes wide. It wasn't that he disliked the hair-ruffling or anything, it was simply that he wasn't used to it. Three hundred years of being invisible and bracing himself when he accidently walked through people was a tough habit to break.

Though, he was trying hard at it.

"Jack," North said, snapping Jack back to reality. "If you need me," the Russian continued from the doorway, "just holler."

"Um, okay," Jack stammered. Sandy waved at him from the other side of the door; Jack grinned his crooked smile and waved good-bye back before the door was gently closed.

Jack took a deep breath, wincing as his neck flared with pain. Earlier, he lied; he didn't feel okay. And when he staggered over to his new bad and practically fell on the way there, he decided that he didn't feel okay at all. His vision swam in and out of focus, and with a start he realized that he was falling asleep.

"No," he mumbled, trying to stand. He could dimly see the window, see the light streaming in and hitting the floor. Maybe if he sat by the window, could feel the cold, maybe that would wake him up. Because, for some reason, Jack didn't _want _to fall asleep. For the first time in his 317 year life, he was afraid of dreaming.

_Not afraid, _Jack thought stubbornly, clinging to the wall as he tried not to tumble over. _I just don't want too. _

Suddenly one knee gave out and he crashed onto the floor, gasping. His vision darkened, then faded completely, and Jack was tossed into a world of dreams.

* * *

_ Ah. Dat cliffhanger. Omigosh I feel evil; sorry about that. And sorry that this chapter is so short! But it's only a buffer chapter, a bridge to get from one part of the story to another. =_= Sorry that it's ridicously short. I'm definitely not used to that at all... it bothers me hahaha_

_ See you all (hopefully) next chapter! :D :D :D Thank you for all for the support! You have no idea how much it means to me! :D :D_

_ Rand0mSmil3z_

_ PS- For Humanity, I begged for some cover art (hahaha) but then the story ended so fast and it never happened. So, I'll ask early for Eternity... does anyone mind making me some cover art? :D I have no artistic talent what-so-ever. Well, I guess I can make a gnarly stick-figure... does that count? But anyway, I don't want to use google images or one of those cheat ways. Why? Because I love original and creative ideas, and second of all I would really like to see some of your guy's work! :D :D :D So, pretty please help me out? You'll be doing me a huge favor! (and I'll give you all the cover credit too, so no worries. I'm not one of _those _types...)_

_ :D Thanks!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Omigosh you guys. I've derped. Essentially, I've given up on the chapter outlines. They take up way too much time so, for now on, I'm winging this sucker! }:D I'll make some chapter outlines later, when I can. That said, I'm also writing my third novel at the exact same time I'm writing this, and I'm still wondering how that's going to work out. But don't worry! I won't stop this story! :D I'll just probably update a little slows (sorry!) to let's say... every other day? I'll try to keep the updates daily though. :D_

_ Now that that depressing stuff is out of the way, it's officially review time!_

_ Mystery Girl Who Writes: YES. I AM EVIL. I AM VERY, VERY EVIL AND ALL OF MY STORIES ARE MY EVIL PRODUCTIONS!_

_ Luna Moon Frost: I'd love to read your fanfic! :D And I'm sending all of those hugs right back at'cha! *hugs!*_

_ MissHaunted-MoonLight: Hahahahah omigosh you have no idea how happy that made me! :D :D :D Dude, I'm so happy you loved Humanity (well, still do based on the review xD) and I hope you love Eternity just as much! (and I love the 'please' you randomly threw in there hahaha)_

_ Crystal Peak: North would only be, like, the most awesome dad ever! Toys every day? Giant walking carpets that make toys? Elves that are ridiculously amusing? SO MUCH YES RIGHT THERE._

_ TheBlackPhantom: Hmmm... I don't think that the altering of memories to make Jack Frost not exist wouldn't be possible, since he's not going to just disappear into thin air if his memories get a little tweaked. The memories of Jack's will only be altered from good memories to ones brimmed to the top with fear... I was going for more of the illusion thing. BUT YOUR THIRD IDEA IS AMAZING. I'll definitely keep that sucker in mind as the story progresses :D :D :D Thank you super duper much for your ideas! :D Please tell me more when you think of some!_

_ YunWun: Hahahaha I'm so glad that you like Humanity and Eternity!_

_ Nutella0Mutt: Lemme just start off by saying your name is AWESOME. Nutella for the win. Anyway, thank you so much! :D :D :D I'm glad you're liking my stories!_

_ And to everyone else, thank you for your reviews! Ahhhh I love them all so much! Seriously, I see my inbox get a notification and it's like opening up Christmas presents. Thank you all so much for making my day! And to those of you who replied to my plea for cover art, I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! :D Seriously, you have no idea how happy I got when I you were all like, I can do it! Made my day. You're all too awesome. _

_ Well then. :D Here is chapter 4!_

* * *

The first thing Jack saw was green, and the forest was full of it. The pine needles decorating the trees hit spring full-force. Vibrant grass just barely peaked their head out from the ground, defiant of the surrounding wet, melting snow. He felt small, tiny even, then realized he was holding something. When he glanced down at the bundle in his arms he saw a small, familiar face peer up and him and smile.

Then everything came back in a flash; Jack was nine years old, his little sister Pippa was one. She laughed at him, raising her small arms to the sunlight. Last year she couldn't go outside since she was born weak but now, one year later, Jack was determined to show her the outside world.

"Are you ready, Pippa?" he whispered, adjusting her in his arms a little so she would be more comfortable.

She grinned at him, brown eyes bright with childlike excitement, and bubbled out a, "Yeah!"

Jack returned the grin and headed out further into the forest. Not that far though, only to the local lake. It was his 'secret' place. Like, whenever he had to think about something important, or had to get away from the world once in a while, he always went to the lake. The clear waters calmed him, the pine trees surrounding it seemed to protect him. He took a deep breath of the crisp, clean, morning air and grinned.

He loved the forest.

"See that?" Jack said, bending down on one knee on the shore. The lake was just beginning to thaw out as spring came, and tiny little minnows peered at him from the shallow shoreline. Pippa's eyes, wide and brimmed to the top with wonder, babbled something and pointed to the lake. Jack laughed; no one in the family knew what she was saying half the time and dubbed it, "Pippa's Language." But Jack personally thought that it was a boring name and called it, "Pippaneze," since it sounded way cooler and all.

"Down, down!" Pippa cried out, kicking her feet. Jack gently lowered her to the ground. She wobbled slightly, since she was just learning how to walk, and clenched her small hand around Jack's index finger for support. Her grip was surprisingly strong, for a one year old at least.

Jack led Pippa down to the water's edge, taking care to make sure she didn't fall. But Pippa was only full of smiles; she smiled at the butterflies that were just coming back for spring, she smiled at the small colorful flowers that dotted the ground. She smiled at the fish, the trees, the grass, and - once in a while - she would glance up at Jack and have a smile just for him.

She pattered up to the water's edge and, decided enough was enough, promptly sat down and stuck her hand into the lake's frigid water. With a cry she drew her arm back, then stared at Jack with an expression that asked why on earth her older brother would do such a thing and make the water cold.

"See?" Jack said, kneeling beside her and dipping his finger into the water.

Pippa frowned, frowned like only a toddler could, and mimicked Jack. Though, when she grazed the water's surface she drew her hand back, laughing. "Cold," she bubbled out, turning to crawl into Jack's laugh. "Brrrrrrrr...!"

Jack laughed, taking off his scarf and wrapping it around Pippa. "You'll get used to it," he promised. "I mean, it's not _so _ba-"

Suddenly the world suddenly got bright, painfully bright. Jack winced and covered his eyes until the glow faded away. But when he opened his eyes, everything had changed. It was like a heavy, dark mist had settled on the forest, with the darkest part looming directly on top of him. He watched, horrified, as the mountain flowers withered and died, as the butterflies fell out of the sky, as the lake froze over once again.

"Pippa, let's go..." _home, _he meant to say, but his voice got lodged in his throat. Pippa wasn't on his lap anymore; she was wandering down the fallen tree, laughing like only the oblivious and innocent could. The tree had fallen into the lake some time ago; even now, half of it was still submerged in the icy water.

"Jaja!" Pippa shouted, waving at him. She couldn't pronounce the hard k sound in 'Jack', so she settled for the next best thing - a nickname. "Jaja, wook at me!" She continued, beaming at him as she spun around and continued down the tree.

"Wait!" Jack shouted, panic rising in his chest. He was running towards her now, the icy air freezing the inside of his lungs. "D-Don't move, okay? I'll come get you, so..." he jumped onto the tree without hesitation, "-don't move."

As he was talking Pippa slipped. She cried out, arms flailing in the air in all directions. The blood in Jack's veins froze, and he could only watch as his little sister fall in slow motions. He was dimly aware of racing towards her now, running down the fallen tree like it was a road a mile wide. The water splashed underneath him as the tree quivered with his footsteps, but it was useless.

With an ear-piercing scream that split Jack down to the core, Pippa had already fallen into the freezing lake.

Jack was about to jump in after her when the scene changed again. Now he was wearing a suit, a couple sizes too big, staring at a hole in the ground. Some people commented that the hole was much too small, that the grave was just too small, that the life lost was just too young. Jack swallowed, swallowed past the lump in his throat.

"It's his fault," the people whispered. Jack flinched, but when he turned to look at them he realized that the people were faceless.

The whispers continued, echoing around him as they slowly lowered the tiny casket of Pippa into her grace. "_It's his fault."_

A chant: _"It's his fault." _

_"It's his fault." _

Jack buried his face in his small hands, squeezing his eyes closed, as his neck flared in agony.

_"It's his fault." _

Pippa's voice joined in with the surrounding chorus. _"It's your fault," _she whispered. _"You killed me."_

"I tried to save you!" Jack screamed. But they didn't listen, no one listened, just continued to chant and chant and chant...

_"It's your fault."_

* * *

North was tucked away in his office when he first heard the screaming. In an instant he was up and on his feet, sprinting down the hall to where Jack's room was. Never before had he heard such a heart-breaking, terrible cry, and he hoped to his very core that he would never hear it again. He threw open the door, then paused at the scene in front of him beside himself.

Jack had fallen off the bed and off the floor, gasping for air like he was a drowning man, staring up at the ceiling with blank, panic-stricken sapphire eyes. The staff had managed to somehow fly across the room and lay in the corner, utterly forgotten.

"Jack," North said in a rush, kneeling beside the boy he considered to be his son. He lightly shook his shoulder, though he was completely unresponsive at first. "Jack," North continued, voice more pressing, "get up."

Suddenly Jack's eyes flicked to North's. Raw panic swirled in their depths, along with a substantial dose of self-loathing. "It's not my fault," he mumbled. "I tried to... I tried...!"

"Of course it's not your fault," North said, moving Jack's white hair out of his eyes. He had no idea what the boy was talking about, but whatever it was, it was important. "It's not your fault."

Jack only blinked at him with his blank, fevered eyes, not understanding in the slightest. Then it all clicked; North could practically say the exact moment Jack Frost snapped out of it.

Jack jackknifed into the sitting position, breathing hard.

North frowned, placing a hand on the boys back. But Jack only brushed it away with a slight shudder.

"I'm fine," he insisted before North could utter a word. "I'm fine, I... I just got..."

"A nightmare," North said matter-of-factly.

But Jack only turned his gaze away.

* * *

Thousands of emotions swirled through Jack, all condensed in the pit of his stomach and set on boiling. His hands lightly shook, though he kept them balled up so it wouldn't show. He took a deep, wavering breath, trying to calm down.

_Pointlessly _trying to calm down.

_I... I killed Pippa," _Jack thought, eyes wide. "I k-killed..." He took another deep, jerky breath, all too aware that North was still in the room.

Then he realized; _I couldn't have killed Pippa. _Because when he thought back, he distinctly remembered _saving _Pippa from falling into the lake, but she was around eight years old then. This was when she was one, so... _so it must be a dream, _Jack stubbornly told himself. But at the same time, a shudder coursed through Jack and he hugged his knees, trying not to tremble.

_That was too realistic to be a dream. _

"Should I call Sandy?" North offered. Jack flinched at the noise, then told himself to get a grip and calm down.

"No," Jack said. His voice was hard and flat, lacking their usual excitement. "I'll... I'll be okay."

North scowled. "Are you sure?"

But Jack only turned away. "Yeah," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. His neck suddenly began to hurt and he reflectively placed a hand on it, a movement that was not lost on North.

But North knew better than to comment on it; Jack Frost had already knew his barriers up and when that happened, there was no point trying to talk to him. _But..._

"If you ever need someone to talk to," North said softly, "you know where I am, okay?" Jack's eyes widened and he turned to North, stunned, then offered him a wane smile.

"I'll remember," he whispered. North smiled back and ruffled Jack's silver hair before he closed the door to Jack's room.

Jack watched him go and took another deep, shaky breath of the chill air. _I'm okay, _he insisted, getting up. He grabbed his staff, which somehow made it across the room, and sat down by the window. He pressed his cheek against the glass, reveling in the familiar cold. It was a beautiful day at the North Pole; snow covered the ground in a single white sheet, smoothing out the hills and erasing all of the imperfections that usually dotted the bare ground. The sun, shining bright above, shone down on the bleached world like a thousand diamonds.

_I'm okay._

Jack closed his eyes, images of Pippa falling into the water replaying over and over and _over _again in his mind, torturing him. He could feel the familiar raw panic set in, could feel the adrenaline course through him once again. His hands trembled slightly, but he didn't bother to hide it this time.

_I'm okay._

* * *

_Omigoodness. I feel so mean right now. D: I'm sorry Jack!_

_ Anyway. This is one angst-filled chapter. Wowza. Usually I don't write angst (not that I've had much of a chance too...) so I wasn't sure what to go for exactly. Hopefully I nailed it, for your sake and mine hahaha :D Also, I tried making this chapter a bit longer after the last chapter. Hope you liked it! :D_

_ Rand0mSmil3z_

_ :D_


	5. Chapter 5

_Ahhh I didn't realize how painful this story would be to write. :( I don't like seeing ANYTHING in pain, really, but here I am writing a story about inner turmoil. Fantastic job, Smil3z. Fantastic. xD But oh well! For all of you with the same perspective as me, I promise a happy ending and, like Humanity, I'll definitely keep my promise. :D But hopefully I'll make less people cry this time while doing it hahaha_

_ Crystal Peak: Oh yes. We're definitely going to be seeing more of Pitch. }:D_

_ DarlingAbyss: You're very welcome! :D_

_ ParaspriteProtector: Awww thank you! :D :D :D_

_ Nutella0Mutt: Ahhh... seriously? I guess I should probably know that since I have four little cousins (I'm the oldest in my family, minus the parents, grandparents, etc of course). Um... let's pretend that Pippa is an amazingly bright child and go with that, okay? xD Or I could move my lazy butt and actually change the ages. Yeah... I'll probably end up doing that. Thank you!_

_ Lightningpool: Don't worry - North has a mastermind of a plan up his sleeve and, being the awesome giant Russian he is, will generally get what he wants whether or not Jack wants it. I mean, the poor kid's a twig! He's skinnier than me, and I'm still not sure how I feel about that hahaha :D_

_ TheBlackPhantom: hahahaha :D You're welcome! :P And I really do love your ideas! They're creative and original :D And I like that. And, as for the cover art, I have no idea! :D That'll be up to the cover-art awesome dudes to decide, since I have ZERO artistic talent at all. Honestly, can't even draw a straight line with a ruler. That's just how skilled I am hahaha :D :D :D_

_ Let's get this chapter started already. Folk, here is chapter five :D_

* * *

North strode down the hallway with an uncharacteristic scowl decorating his face. The yetis and elves, those that heard the screams and came running, got out of the big man's way with worried expressions. Some elves clung to each other, each wondering what the screams were and who was dying. The yetis didn't wonder who was dying; they were wondering who already died. Or, if not died, was being slowly tortured.

Of course, no one actually believed that North was walk out of a room with a dying person inside. So, confused and worried, they all pressed themselves against the wall and simply let North pass by. Sometimes things weren't meant to be seen for the work force of Santoff Clausen, and they all decided that this moment was one of those times. So, after North passed by, they all shoved the screaming as best they could into the back of their mind and headed to their worktables. Christmas was coming, albeit not for nine more months, but they had to have all of the presents ready for the children of the world. That was a huge job.

But one yeti lagged behind the others, then finally stopped completely. Phil, the yeti in charge of guarding the entrances to Santoff Clausen, recognized the screams. He had heard that voice before; it was the same mischievous winter spirit that had tried to break into North's castle so many times that the yeti didn't have enough fingers to count anymore. How many times had he heard Jack Frost's laugh as Phil managed to keep the boy out time and time again? How many times had he been the brunt of one of the boy's many pranks and slicked floors? The boy, the Guardian, that Phil knew wouldn't scream. It was simply incomprehensible; Jack Frost managed to get through everything with raw determination and a healthy dose of stubborn.

So, when Phil the yeti dragged himself back to Jack's room, he wasn't surprised to see the spirit sitting by the window lost in his own daydreams, staring at the bleached-white world outside. His hood was up, covering his face, and to Phil it made the boy appear more mysterious than he already was. After all, Jack Frost's story was the tale of the lifetime; Man in the Moon chose Jack Frost, the elusive winter spirit no one really knew besides Bunnymund, as a Guardian. The boy came with no memories, a bad attitude, and some sort of fancy stick - that was it. And, despite all odds, Jack _won. _

Some accused Phil of not having a heart, maybe a rock beating in his chest or something, but Jack's condition broke that beating thing. He was much to kind, too full of that childlike innocence, to go through another fall like the fall he took into humanity. After all, every child must grow up and every child will open their eyes and throw away their innocence so many took pride in, and Phil wondered how far Jack would have to fall before he lost his childlike innocence too.

Suddenly the door creaked on its hinged, making Phill wince from the harsh sound, and he jerked his furry head to Jack.

But the boy only lazily turned away, fixing his blue eyes on Jack with an icy glare that quickly melted away into a frown. Then the recognition set in and his sapphire eyes perked up. "Oh, hey Phil," Jack said with a crooked smile. "You like my room?"

Phil rolled his eyes. "Agiblawa," he stated. What that meant, in yetish, was 'How are you feeling?'

Of course, Jack didn't know yetish. Not even close. To him, yetish was a mix of gurgles and grunts and overall a chaotic mess. Suddenly the image flashed in front of his mind, of Pippa and her Pippaneze, of the nightmarish memory scarred into his retinas. He jerked his head back to the pale world outside his window, thankful that his face didn't turn red anymore thanks to his cold skin.

Phil sighed; he caught the look in the boy's face just a moment before he turned away. That expression wasn't fear per say, it wasn't something else. Something like horror, something like pain, something like raw desperation. Phil silently walked forward on his padded, fuzzy feet and placed a comforting hand on Jack's shoulder. Jack stiffened beneath Phil's gentle grip; it was clear that the boy still wasn't quite used to contact, but Phil understood. Three hundred years was a long time to go without knowing a single soul. In fact, the yeti wasn't quite sure how Jack survived being _alone _for so long, alone and without a single memory, but that just proved how strong Jack could be.

Without another word Phil gently squeezed the winter sprint's small, thin shoulder before leaving the room, and for the first time realized that, though Jack his technically over three hundred years old, in reality his mind set as frozen as a seventeen year old boy, stuck somewhere in between ten and twenty.

Jack could _never _grow up. Jack would never grow old, mature into adulthood, or would ever be simply allowed to relax. After all, right after Jack's death, he was forced into the world that only unfounded firm belief could understand. Jack would never, ever, truly live and, to Phil, that might have been the saddest thing of all.

* * *

Pitch Black's thin gray lips tweaked into a malicious grin. "It's happening," he said, thinking out loud. His voice echoed around him, traveling up the crooked stone stairways and down the hallways that led to nowhere. It filled the void in his great cavern of mazes, made him feel like he was stronger than he felt.

That spider bit on Jack wasn't so much of a bite as it were a _promise. _Pitch, the Nightmare King, _promised _to Jack that one day he would regret the day he was born.

That day was fast approaching.

Pitch smiled to himself; his smile grew, widened, and he broke out laughing. His laugh was frail, weak compared to before, but it didn't matter. Not right now.

Jack's memories were rich, full of innocent childlike trust, belief, _life. _How Pitch loved that sick _life, _loved the way it oozed off of the Frost family in waves. Even now the memories ran through Pitch's head as he relived them. Now and then he felt a pang of sadness; what if he was going overboard? -but he quickly through that ridiculous notion away.

Right now, his goal was for Jack to suffer far beyond what Pitch had already gone through.

Pitch Black laughed, his laugh a little strong now, and wondered with a devious smile...

"What memory should I go through next?"

* * *

North scowled at the globe. He wasn't scowling _at the globe, _per say, he was actually just scowling to scowl and the globe happened to be in the way. The globe was a beautiful thing, with gorgeous pinpricks of light dotting its smooth surface. But North wasn't thinking about the lights, the believers of the world, at this time.

His thoughts were focused on Jack.

North's scowl deepened; no matter how Jack insisted that he was okay, North could plainly see that he was definitely _not _okay. No child, spirit, Guardian, or human, screams like that when they are _okay. _

_No; this is something much worse, _North scowled. His mind went back to the spider bite on Jack's neck; it was a sick thing, making the poor kid's veins stand out black against his skin. And, when he went in there, he couldn't help but notice that the spider web of black had spread slightly so that it peeked out from underneath Jack's blue hoodie. North's scowl, if possible, deepened further; this was beyond his talents now. Worse still, Jack clamped up; he wasn't telling North how he actually felt. True, it hurt North slightly that Jack still couldn't bring himself to unconditionally trust quite yet, but the big man understood.

However, there was one person that Jack _might _just talk to.

Toothiana, also known as the Tooth Fairy.

North grinned despite himself; it was obvious the bubbly Tooth had a soft spot for the boy that went deeper than North's father-son perspective, Bunnymund's protector/uncle perspective, or Sandy's calm perspective that simply helped the world to help. No; _everyone _could plainly see that Tooth had a crush on the winter spirit.

But North secretly believed that it had something to do with Jack's perfectly white teeth as well.

"Someone get me my snow globe," North said, his voice ringing throughout the room. Almost instantly two little elves stumbled up to him, holding a clear orb with pieces of white plastic 'snow' drifting inside of it. "I need two volunteers," he continued, then added, "yetis," when the elves raised their small hands. They drooped their heads and turned away, frowning, but miraculously recovered when they spotted some cookies.

Two yetis came forward, and North handed them the snow globe. "Go to Tooth's place," he ordered, though his voice was kind. "Tell her that it's an emergency; Jack's in trouble."

The yeti's only nodded their heads and threw the snow globe. It shattered on the ground, and an explosion of greens and blues popped out at them as the portal opened. Without missing a beat, the yetis dove through and the portal closed.

North took a deep breath and glanced at the globe, _through _the globe, deep in thought.

_Now we just have to wait._

* * *

Jack's gaze wandered lazily at the world outside. Usually he would want to fly outside and explore, maybe even have an inspiration to prank someone while he was at it.

But, for some reason, he just couldn't feel it right now. Instead he felt weak and lightheaded, almost like if he wasn't careful he would end up falling asleep and floating away. Jack grimly smiled and glanced at his hands; they had stopped trembling but now they felt stiff, the joints locked together.

At the same time his neck flared in pain. Jack winced and stiffly got to his feet, cold hand pressing against his neck all the while as he stumbled to the mirror. He pulled on his jacket, exposing the bite, and gasped. No; he didn't truly gasp. All of the breath came out of him in a whoosh, like he had been kneed to the gut, as he saw the ugly black _thing _that infected his neck. It looked like a crossword puzzle, a maze, a _disease _of black spider webs with two pinpricks in the dead center.

It flared in pain again, and Jack winced before gingerly covering it up with his hoodie again. He felt frozen there, staring at his reflection. It seemed unfamiliar to him, the look in his eyes and their tired expression.

_What's wrong with me?_

Jack shuddered and pressed a hand against his neck, trying to make all of the hurt go away.

* * *

_Tada! So, I'm going to upload this thing in the morning (well, morning to me) today since I'll be super busy later with homework and my actual book. Not even kidding that thing is turning into a 500 page monstrosity. My original plan was for it to be done by Christmas... Hah. Yeah right. xD Maybe by the end of the school year...? _

_ Maybe!_

_ But anyway, thank you all for your reviews and ideas! :D :D And thanks those of you who offered to do the cover-art! Omigosh I'm super excited over that. :D I can't wait to see your work!_

_ Until next time!_

_ Rand0mSmil3z_

_ :D_


	6. Chapter 6

_Had the most fabulous tie at school today. Had a huge AP Psych quiz... THAT I ACED. MUH-HAHAHAHA *insert a way more evil laugh here*. DUDES, it was glorious. Best feeling in the world is when you know that you didn't screw up when it counted. Then, on the way home, the radio played my favorite song AND THEN played the original Grinch theme song! It was the best moment ever. "He's a mean one... mister Grinch~!" And then I watched X-Men : First Class. Charles Xavier, the young version, is one fine, fine man. _

_ Just saying. :D_

_ Anyway, time for the replies!_

_ luvnstuff15: You technically replied to Humanity, but oh well! *hands you tissues* I'm sorry that the epilogue made you cry! And I'm glad you're loving my stories! :D :D :D Totally made my good day that much more amazing. I hope you like Eternity just as much as Humanity! Stay awesome! :D_

_ Rhymstone: *teasing* Why, aren't they both equally amazing? :P :D_

_ ihavenocluewhattoname: Nice username! xD Made me laugh. Anyway, I'm sooooo so so so happy you're liking Eternity! :D :D_

_ Harry Potter and Ezio for Life: Awww thank you! :D :D :D And I've actually already published a book! Two, in a matter of fact. :D :D So if I wasn't somewhat good at writing by now, I'd be kinda depressed hahaha :D But I still have so much to improve on, so if you see anything lacking don't hesitate to let me know! :D :D_

_ Lightningpool: Trust me. During the movie I didn't really dislike Pitch or anything, but the more I write the more I wanna hit the guy over the head with his shin bone. Nah, just kidding... kinda sorta hahaha :D_

_ Luna Moon Frost: Thank you! :D And good luck with your dream of becoming an author! Granted, it takes a decent dose of willpower but if you want to do something, like truly want to do it, you'll find a way. :) Good luck with your book; when you published, please let me know! I want to be first in line to read that sucker! :D :D_

_ TheBlackPhantom: No Kangaroo yet, but he'll come into play soon. :) I promise. And that idea is actually pretty gnarly... :D :D :D Definitely'll keep that in mind! And no, it doesn't snow where I live :( All I got here is the sea and sunshine. The coldest it ever gets is somewhere in the high fifties. Blech. Trust me, you get sick of palm trees after a while... what I would give to see a real pine frosted with snow. :D This story is kinda like my get-away I guess, hahaha. By the way... }:D *GRABS SOME ICE OUT OF THE FRIDGE, STICK IT IN THE BLENDER, MAKES SNOW, AND THEN CHUCKS IT AT YOUR FACE.* THIS IS SPARTAAAAAA! }:D_

_ Crystal Peak: Yeah. Basically Pitch wants revenge, but at the same time he still wants Jack on his side. He's a very complicated, twisted character hahaha_

_ Whew that's a lot of replying! But I've read everyone's and I love them all! (And yes, I definitely mean that. I don't say this to waste space hahaha) :D So thank you everyone for your comments, ideas, whatever! _

_ Anyway, let's start this sucker! Time for chapter 6!_

* * *

Warm light streamed into the green spires of Toothiana's Castle. Centered in Southern Africa, it was always warm in this cheerful place. Excitement charged the air small tooth sprites, tiny and covered with a thousand iridescent feathers of green and purple, darted through the air with teeth firmly clenched in their small arms. They hovered down the spires, through the clean air, and into the center column. Hundreds of thousands of memory boxes were stuffed neatly inside of it, and each tooth sprite knew instinctively which baby tooth went into which capsule.

Tooth, the Queen herself, hovered in the center of the room. She wore her usual beaming smile as the sun glittered off of her beautiful green feathers. "Look at _this!" _she cried out, holding a tiny molar protectively in her hands. "Look at he _brushed! _Look how he _flossed!" _

The tooth sprite plucked the molar out of her hands just as another deposited a frontal tooth in Tooth's eager hands. She gasped, holding the pearly tooth into the air so it caught the sun. "It's so _white!" _she beamed. "What dental _hygiene!" _She gave it back to the tooth sprite to deposit and then cheerfully flitted back and forth in the air, her smile nearly as bright as the sun itself.

Tooth loved teeth; she always had. Each tooth was irreplaceable, a tiny memory that was the framework for a thousand more. She loved how small they were, loved how the children took so much pride in their teeth. She loved hearing her name and, though most adults didn't believe in her, promised their children anyway that the Tooth Fairy would come tonight, so they better be good and go to sleep, or else she might not come...

Tooth couldn't help but smile. Only one time had she been caught red handed; it was by a little boy by the name of Jamie. Oh, how he looked so surprised and so _happy. _She giggled and twirled in the air, reveling at the freedom the sky could bring. _Maybe I'll go on a few runs tomorrow, _she thought to herself, the notion pleasing her immensely. _Maybe..._

Suddenly there was a pop as the air distilled around her, cutting off her thoughts completely. Tooth spun, on edge thanks to the previous events only a month before, but paused when she saw two thick, walking carpets launch out of a small portal. The two yetis landed on each other in a heap of fur and limbs, standing only when they detangled themselves. One pointed to her and garbled out something from its spot on the grass.

"What is it?" Tooth asked, hovering closer. Her feet never touched the ground; instead, they hovered just inches above it. The yetis looked distressed almost, and their distress instantly dampened her cheerful mood. "What's wrong?" she pressed on, glancing at each yeti in turn.

They turned to each other, shrugged, and the tallest said, "Abiglababa," and pointed to the portal.

"Go with you?" Tooth asked, hovering slightly closer. "Why? Is something wrong? Does North need help?"

The smaller, more pale yeti sighed. "Blagawaga," it said, waving its arms around excitedly. Tooth cocked her head, not comprehending in the least, and finally the yeti just gave up and gently grabbed her wrist. "Dublaba," it gargled out, then began to pull her into the portal. Tooth swallowed; whatever was wrong must be serious.

"Baby Tooth!" she shouted over her shoulder. The tiny sprite, the one with the yellow feather on its forehead, buzzed to her and began to follow. "Everyone else, do you job okay? I'll be back soon, so please be good!" The tooth sprites all chirped in affirmation, and a few waved as she disappeared into the portal.

* * *

North stared at the globe, lost in thought, as the portal opened. Two yetis flew out, followed by a poof of green and purple feathers. Fortunately for Tooth, she was flying before she hit the floor.

She blinked her lavender eyes a few times as she got her bearings, then she glanced at North with wide eyed. "N-North!" she exclaimed, her cheerful smile already in place. "It's nice to see you again! How have you been? Is something wrong?"

North sighed; Tooth had gotten a lot chattier since the last time he'd seen her. She should really get out more. "Something is wrong," he admitted, rubbing his white bread. "It's Jack."

Tooth blinked. "Did he and Bunnymund get into another scuffle?"

North inwardly winced; Bunnymund and Jack never really got along, and every time they had a disagreement, whether it be whether spring or winter was more beautiful or who was more important, there was always a blizzard somewhere. A blizzard meant power outages and general chaos. "Not this time," he said. "He has a mark on his neck, like some sort of bite. Sandy fount him passed out near Burgess and brought him here."

Worry filled Tooth's violet eyes. "Like, what kind of bite? A big bite?"

"Small," North scowled. "Like a spider or something like that. Anyway," he continued, "I've asked him what was wrong already - he had a bad dream - but he won't say anything. So, could you..."

"Can I find out for you?" Tooth finished for him, grinning. "You betcha. I'll get right on it." And with that she was already flying down the hallway, Baby Tooth close behind chirping manically.

North watched her going, then glanced to his yeti and shrugged, as if to say _What can you do?_

* * *

Jack was watching the snow fall, watching each tiny and unique flake fall to from the sky, when it happened again. It was unexpected, like a knife from behind, like a bullet to the back. One moment he was watching the snowflakes, wondering which town he should strike with a snow day today; the next he was dreaming.

It started out as nothing too bad. He was having a snowball fight with his friends; Pippa was on his back, laughing and laughing and laughing, holding his ammo for him. One moment his arm was drawn back, prepared to nail his friend right in the kisser.

The next he was alone, lost in the forest, sprinting for his life. He wasn't sure what he was running from as he ran into the dark, pitch black mist. He wasn't sure why he was terrified, wasn't sure where he was or - more importantly - why he was there. He simply ran.

Suddenly he tripped; he hit the snow, sending the white fluff spraying in all directions. Jack spun, scream stuck in his throat, when the image changed again without warning.

Now he was in a park; it was spring. Bunnymund was facing away from him. North and Tooth were looking at him oddly, and Jack struggled to suppress the growing unease in his pit. He knew this moment; it was when he messed up, lost Baby Tooth to Pitch and grabbed his memory box instead. He looked around, seeing only the green grass with no easter eggs resting on the warm earth. No Easter came this year; this was what he destroyed, and for what? For a handful of memories?

"Bunnymund," he whispered, "I'm sorry..." Black mist settled around, and the world got a strange, unfamiliar quality to it, as if Jack was stuck in the middle with nowhere to turn and nowhere to run. "Bunnymund," he said again, "I'm so, so sorry..."

But Bunnymund spun around. The only thing Jack saw were yellow eyes, such yellow eyes, before a warm hand locked around his throat. "This is your fault!" Bunnymund was screaming at him, but Jack could barely see. All he saw was red. "_You _did this! You destroy _everything!"_

Suddenly the hand let go and Jack fell onto the grass, gasping for air. Somehow he was already trying to get away from the Easter Bunny, arms and legs struggling to work together as he backed away. Suddenly something sharp pricked the back of his neck; Jack barely allowed himself to turn his head to seewhat it was.

It was North, sword drawn, the tip digging into Jack's throat. "You are no Guardian," North said. His eyes were also strange, flicking in between blue and gold. "No Guardian would ever abandon one of their own for such..." he eyes the memory box in distaste, "_-selfish _reasons."

Jack's breath caught in his throat. This was it; this was the moment he expected from the beginning. He was prepared, honestly. He was never fit to be a Guardian.

But that didn't make it hurt any less.

"Tooth..." The Tooth Fairy's name came out as almost a dry, desperate whisper, and Jack locked his sapphire eyes with her own lavender ones. _This _was why he always wanted to be alone but now, but now that he had a _glimpse _of what a life he could have with friends, with a _family, _it nearly tore him apart to watch it all fall from his grasp.

But Tooth only flinched and turned away, tears wetting her eyelashes. Jack's frozen heart clenched painfully in his cold chest. "I'm sorry," she whispered. Her voice came out in a choked sob.

_I'm sorry. _

To Jack, those words hurt the most of all.

Suddenly the image flared once again and the world disintegrated away, leaving only a pasty white canvass behind. There was nothing here where Jack was, simply _nothing. _There was only white as Jack numbly looked around. It was empty, hollow, blank. Maybe it didn't even exist.

Jack choked on laughter; the irony amused him. How fitting for a spirit, one that no one ever believed in anyway, fall to a world that never really existed.

Jack laughed, Jack cried, Jack hurt. He had been hurt before, but not like this. This... this hurt, this utter _rejection, _it was almost too much for him.

_ Almost. _

"See what I told you?" A familiar voice echoed around him, and instantly Jack was on guard, holding his staff and prepared to fight. But it was more of an automatic reaction when he hear Pitch Black's voice; his heart just didn't seem to be in it.

"Go away," he mumbled. His eyes were dry, his throat even drier.

A laugh. "Didn't I warn you this would happen?" Pitch asked. Black sand formed in front of Jack, a stark contrast to all of the white, and a face formed from it. Then a body, then an arm, then a hand that gently stroked Jack's cheek.

Jack slapped the hand away, disgusted. "I don't need them," he said between clenched teeth, "and I don't need you."

Another laugh, and the back sand figure of Pitch grinned maliciously. "But you _do," _he insisted.

Suddenly black sand bubbled around Jack's ankles, and he was sinking like he fell into a tar pit. Jack knew this feeling from somewhere, but he couldn't remember. At that moment, however, he couldn't care less.

"Pitch!" Jack screamed, struggling to free himself. "Get back here and _fight!" _

Another laugh, and Pitch Black disintegrated away until only his voice remained. "Your fight is not with me," he whispered, chuckling to himself. Then even the voice vanished until it was only Jack and the black sand at his feet that tried to swallow him whole. Jack glanced down, flailing his arms, and screamed in frustration.

Suddenly something hit his face, jolting him from his dreams. Jack bolted to his feet, groping for his staff, stressed out and ready to turn someone into a human popsicle. He had to find his staff, had to make sure Pitch...

"Jack!" A cry, along with two feathered arms wrapping around his neck, snapped him back to reality. "Jack, it was only a dream! You're okay!"

"T-T-Tooth?" To Jack's horror, his voice stuttered slightly. He swallowed and tried again. "Tooth?"

"It's me." The arms unwound off his neck and Tooth was suddenly hovering in front of him, trying to keep on a smile. However, it was obvious to see that it was strained. "Are you okay? Oh Jack," she whispered, gently reaching forward to touch his cheek. "You were having such a bad dream, is there anything that I ca..."

But Jack only flinched away from her hand, as if she was going to strike him. "I'm fine," he muttered. "J-Just a bad dream. That's it. I'm fi-"

"Don't lie to me," Tooth scowled. Jack blinked his sapphire eyes and suddenly her arms were around Jack again, trying her best to comfort the trembling winter spirit. Tooth wasn't an expert on dreams - that was Sandy's job - but she knew when a child was acting tough. Jack wasn't a child, but his innocence and childlike attitude to the world had always concealed how strong Jack could really be.

But there was only so much he, or anyone for that matter, could take before they cracked.

"You'll be okay," Tooth whispered. "I promise."

She felt Jack swallow then carefully, oh so carefully, wrap his arms around his in an awkward hug. Tooth grinned slightly; Jack just needed a little practice is all. Then Jack mumbled something, something so low she barely missed it.

_"I believe you."_

* * *

_Jack took his first step to the road to recovery! Yay! :D But omigoodness, so much angst in this chapter. Should I change the genres, yes or no? And then which one should I change?_

_ Anyway, looking back, the 'white world' thing might be confusing. I was sort of going for Jack's mind type-of-thing, and the manifestation of sand is from the spider bite. Hopefully that clears some things up - sorry! But there is no way in heaven and earth that I'm rewriting that scene. Noooo way, I'm much too lazy. xD_

_ And now that this chapter is done, time to study AP Spanish! Yay - anyone want to write a three-page essay for me... in spanish? :D Nah, just kidding. I got this - and a dictionary, and google translate, and my phone. Weapons of mass destruction right there. _

_ Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I made it especially long today! :D_

_ Until next time!  
Rand0mSmil3z_


	7. Chapter 7

_Today was a rather eventful day; I donated blood! The blood drive was held at my school, and since I'm 0- (it's the universal donor, for people that don't know) I feel bad when I don't donate. That said, I hate seeing other peoples blood and I dislike needles, especially the big kind, with a fiery passion. The gym was FULL of them, all lined up as people leaned back in chairs with tubes sticking out of their arms. This was my second time, so I was expecting it and all, but that didn't make it any easier hahaha_

_ (WARNING: BLOOD DONATING STORY COMING UP. If you don't want to read, skip ahead to wherever your heart desires. GO TO THE BIG LETTERS AT THE BOTTOM. GO, AND MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU.) Anyway, it was a rather traumatizing experience. They swapped my left arm (they couldn't find any veins in my right... does that make me a mutant? X-Men worthy?! :D :D :D) and slid the needle in. That was the easy part... the hard part came when nothing happening. So, the nurse (skip ahead if you're squeamish - I'm not even kidding... (pause for people to turn away...) SOOOO the nurse had t wiggle the needle inside my arm, which was absolutely horrifying. But still nothing happened; usually they send the people away. Not me, not with my 0- blood. So the nurse called over another nurse, and she was all like, "Ready sweetie?!" with an annoyingly cheerful voice. It's like, lady - i got a needle in my arm. Please get it over wi-SNAP. She twists that thing like how I twist open nutella jars: with a fiery passion. Omigosh that hurt; even better, I got to just SIT THERE. Just SIT for a good thirty minutes until I was finally done. I get up, nearly pass out, but sort of drunkenly stagger to the mat and plop there. Then I want my backpack and jacket, so I get up again (stupid stupid me) and wander over to the seats; donde esta mi mochilla? Heart attack time, and that extra beating of my heart made me pass out. Next thing I know, three nurses are surrounding me helping me back to the mat, told me to sit, got me ice packs, lalalala. It was actually pretty cool, once my head stopped swimming and all. Ate three packets of Nutter Butters while I was at it xD_

_ BUT. I did end up saving a baby's life. :) My trauma = Totally worth it. _

_ :D_

_ (PEOPLE WHO WANT TO SKIP MY AWFUL STORY, JUMP DOWN HERE!)_

_ Anyway! :D Reply time! (and an apology to those that didn't heed my warning before the story. I tried my best to warn you.)_

_ sam2934: Why thank you! :D_

_ Crystal Peak: Hahaha is it evil of me to say that I was pretty satisfied when you said that I really knew how to screw around with people's heads? And yes, Pitch does sort of what Jack on his side. It doesn't seem plausible now in the story, but I'll get to it eventually. How do I know? I can feel it... in my belly xD Stay awesome!_

_ DarlingAbyss: I stabbed your heart?! D: Here, take a Band-Aid! *hands you Band-Aid*_

_ Guest: Awww I wish I knew your username! :D :D Thank you so much, that was the sweetest thing ever! I'm so happy you liked Humanity and liking Eternity!_

_ luvnstuff15: Hahaha okay! The genre's will stay the same! :D But dude! Fanart?! Noo waaay that's too cool! Holy helicopter! Fanart is for, like, popular people! :O :O :O I'm average hahaha! But dude! I would love to see your fanart! :D :D Aaaah I can't wait! You're awesome!_

_ TheBlackPhantom: You forgot your name again hahaha but don't worry, I knew it was you from the moment I saw the snowball xD And yeah, I wish I lived where it would snow. :( Jack Frost hates my house. Especially me, since I'm torturing him via all of my stories haha xD If he read there, I think he would slam my face with a snowball. *at that same exact moment I write these words, Jack Frost (sent by YOU, you turd :P :P :P) slams my face wiiiiiith a snowball.* *blink while babbling incoherenty, then screams* THIS CALLS FOR WAAAAAAR! *heads to the freezer and begins turning ice cubes into snow.* }:D PREPARE YOURSELF - WINTER IS COMING._

_ Well then! :D Replies are over (sorry to those I didn't get to... I got carried away hahaha but I LOVE YOU ALL, READERS AND FOLLOWERS AND FAVERS AND REVIEWERS ALIKE!) Now, let's start the REAL story - here is chapter seven!_

* * *

North frowned as he pacd back and forth in his office. Jack sat on the desk, wishing that he could disappear into the floor, and Tooth hovered beside him with a worried expression. In Jack's hands was Baby Tooth; she sighed contently as Jack lightly stroked her soft head with his thumb.

"So," North finally said, turning to Jack, "tell me what happened. Front the beginning again."

Jack cast Tooth a dry glance, then turned back to North and said, "I already _told _you everything. I stopped by Burgess," he scowled, "then hung out with Jamie. We watched this movie called... called... Paranormal Activity 3." He had a proud expression on his face, though it melted slightly when North's eyebrows shot up into his forehead.

"Jack, you shouldn't watch those types of movies," North frowned. "They're bad."

Jack's frown deepened. "I can watch whatever I want to," he scowled. "Besides, it was a stupid movie. The main girl was a complete idiot."

North sighed; Jack could be so _stubborn _sometimes. "Anyway," he said, "what happened next?"

"Nothing much," Jack shrugged, drawing frosty doodles on the floor with his staff. "Jamie's mom came, yelled at him for a bit, and then I jumped out the window and decided to head north. But..." he added with a scowl, "I remember getting bit by something. The memory is kinda hazy, but... but I needed to... needed to..."

North watched, alarmed, as Jack's eyes suddenly took on a blank look. Finally Jack blinked - the look in his eyes was gone - and said, "I don't remember what. But then I woke up and Sandy was there, and then he brought me here. There," he added, casting Tooth another dry glance. "Done. That's it, that's the whole story. So... can I leave now?" Jack smiled hopefully.

North shot Jack a glance that said, _There's no way, _and the smile slipped off of Jack's face and was replaced with a frown. "You passed out in the middle of nowhere," North pointed out. "Plus, your neck doesn't look too good."

"Yeah," Jack commented dryly. "I noticed."

North cast a wry glance at Tooth, then sighed; Jack could be _so _stubborn. In fact, he could be more stubborn than an elf that was hell-bent to eat a cookie, and that was saying something indeed. "Well," he said slowly, "tell me about your nightmares."

"They're not nightmares," Jack nearly hissed, pale hands balling up in his lap. "They're... they're _more _than just stupid nightmares. Nightmares go away when you wake up," he added in a low voice, then flicked his icy-blue eyes to meet North's. North was surprised to see so much venom swirling in their sapphire depths.

Tooth gently placed her hand on Jack's shoulder. "M-Maybe we should just call it a day here?" she asked with a nervous laugh.

North blinked, then rubbed the back of his neck with another tired sigh. "All right," he said slowly. Relief flooded Jack's face and he hopped off of the desk like a prisoner on jail break, but before he reached the door North stopped him with a giant bear-hug. Jack stiffened up quite like a plank.

"Uh..."

"Jack," North said, moving back so that he faced the boy. Bright blue eyes stared back at him; confusion, a defensive look, surprise, and just a teaspoon of comfort, of thanks. "Jack," North slowly, eyeing the small winter spirit in the eye. "If you ever want to talk, ever want some hot... cold? chocolate, just want to help, let me know alright?" Tooth, still hovering over the desk, smiled.

Jack turned away, his face heating up in a pale purple. North couldn't suppress the grin; ever since Jack fell to humanity and back again he had the ability to blush. "Um... yeah. Okay," Jack stammered out. North nodded, satisfied, and allowed the mischievous winter spirit to escape into the hallway. Only when his blue hoodie disappeared around the corner did North turn to back to Tooth.

"He's still hiding something," he scowled.

But Tooth only shrugged. "Don't worry," she said cheerfully. "I'm sure he'll come around eventually. I mean, he's been on his own so long... maybe it doesn't know how to open up."

North sighed, turning back to the hallway. "Maybe," he said. "I'm worried about his nightmares though..."

Suddenly his blue eyes lit up like lights on a Christmas tree. "Tooth!" he exclaimed. Tooth blinked at him, startled. "Call Sandy; he helped Jack the first time, right?" North's face broke out into a victorious grin. "He can help Jack again!"

Tooth nodded with a smile and, beside her, Baby Tooth chirped. "Will do," she stated, then turned to her Baby Tooth. They spoke telepathically for a couple brief seconds before the tiny tooth sprite took off, darting down the maze of hallways like she had seen it a thousand times.

North watched the tiny mass of green feathers disappear. "This time, we will help Jack," he stated. Tooth nodded beside him, violet eyes brimmed to the top with determination.

"Of course we will."

* * *

Jack ran down one of the more forgotten hallways. His neck flared in pain, burning like a fire, and he bit his lower lip to keep from crying out. It felt like someone had replaced his blood with lava and, coming from a winter spirit, that was the worst type of pain imaginable.

His vision flared white. _No! _ he mentally screamed at himself. He used the ice from his staff to freeze his legs, locking the knee in place so that he couldn't simply topple over, and staggered over to his room. His breathes came in short gasps as his chest fluttered with every passing breath.

His grip tightened on the door knob, but only slipped off when the door opened. He fell forward slightly, then caught himself on the wall. His head swam, as if it were in the clouds.

_What happened? _he wondered, inching towards the bed. _I was fine just a second ago, I..._

Without warning, his neck flared in a searing agony. He didn't even have time to scream before the image changed.

* * *

He opened his eyes, blinking at the frigid cold that pressed on him from all sides. It was _dark, _so dark, as if the night had swallowed him up completely. He coughed; small bubbles weaved their way to a hidden sky. It was _cold, _it was _dark, _and Jack was scared.

No; scared is too nice of a word.

He was terrified.

He was about to scream, scream for anyone or anything, when it felt like a hand gently scooped him up in the freezing lake water. Suddenly he was rising, drifting to the surface like a bubbles of air. Something cold and hard pressed against his face, and Jack squeezed his eyes shut as he broke through the ice.

He blinked open his eyes as water ran down his hair, dripped off his skin, and took a deep breath. He choked on the air and coughed again, then breathed. He breathed until he felt like he was alive.

He rose in the air as if suspended by a thousand fragile strings. The moon... _it's beautiful, _Jack thought, sapphire eyes locked with the pale orb above. It was... it was so _big. _Jack took another deep breath of the frigid, frosty air. It felt like the moon was watching over him, like it saved him, and suddenly...

Jack blinked in surprise. Suddenly he wasn't scared anymore.

He was gently lowered to the ground. His bare feet sunk into the fresh snow, that silver powder that seemed to shine in the moonlight like a thousand stars. Jack grinned and hopped around a little; the snow wasn't cold. Instead it was soft, and light, and fluffy. It was the only familiar thing in an unfamiliar world.

Suddenly the world flared a little, and Jack absentmindedly pressed a hand against his neck. The forest suddenly got dark, and the moon overhead disappeared.

"Jack Frost, is it?" asked a voice. Jack turned his head, then smiled as a man walked out of the forest. He looked strange, not like Jack at all; this man was tall and lean, with a flat gray face and vibrant yellow eyes. _Like the sun, _Jack thought.

"I-I guess so," Jack replied. In truth, he didn't know. He couldn't remember.

"Well," the man said with a smile, "I am Pitch; Pitch Black. We'll make a great team, you and I."

"A team?" Jack asked. "What kind of team?"

Pitch smiled, a strange smile full of an emotion Jack didn't recognize. "A winning team," he replied.

Jack frowned; that was an odd thing to say, before the man named Pitch Black disintegrated into sand. Jack watched with wide blue eyes, shocked, then grinned. _I bet I can do something cool too!_

Nearby was a long wooden staff. Jack picked it up in a single effortless movement; he was drawn to it almost, and turned to the black sky. No stars shone, there was no moon. But Jack didn't care; he made a new friend.

...

Jack's eyes suddenly snapped open and, with a shout, he fell off the bed in a tangle of covers and limbs. His breath came in short gasps as he pried himself off the floor. Outside, the sun had set and the sky was bright with stars.

_Stars._

Jack was somehow on his feet, already sprinting towards the window before his mind could catch up. _The moon, the moon was gone, the moon...! _The images flashed in his mind and he thrust open the pane and poked his head out the window.

To his relief the moon was still there, shining as brightly as ever. With a gasp Jack leaned against the wall and slipped down the floor. A cool breeze rustled back his cheek, messying his silver hair.

When he closed his eyes, the images of Pitch Black at the lake flashed his mind like a bad film. _Pitch was there, _he thought with an emotion bordering panic. _He knew me from the beginning, knew me from... from the moment I became Jack Frost, _he realized. _He knew me. He was my first friend, my..._

_ Stop! _Jack squeezed his eyes shut and buried his throbbing head in his hands. _Pitch Black is _evil! _He threw me in a lake, tried to kill me, hurt everyone...!_

With a deep breath he stood up on shaky legs. His brain hurt from thinking, his eyes felt like sandpaper from the restless sleep. His emotions boiled in his gut like bad cooking. _North promised hot-cold chocolate whenever I wanted, right? J_ack walked into the hallway, not bothering to close the door behind him.

Right now, Jack needed some hot-cold chocolate.

* * *

_Hot-cold chocolate = hot chocolate with ice cubes. Jack hates warm things; it burns his tongue. :( Poor thing. _

_ Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! :D :D And everyone, thank you all for the support! It's insane how popular this has become, and it's barely been a week. Actually, it'll be a week starting today! :D Happy week anniversary, everyone!_

_ Rand0mSmil3z_

_ PS- donating blood isn't actually all that bad. Everyone else had no problem... everyone else but me, naturally. =_=_

_PPS- Anyway, I've been wondering... since both Humanity and Eternity have both become so popular (which still amazes me to no end... I love you guys! :D) should I make a group for it on deviantart? I could post the chapters there too, probably faster since the uploads there are instant. Here it takes thrity minutes. Anyway, your thoughts? Yes, no? Am I getting a little bit ahead of myself? :) :) :) Please let me know!_


	8. Chapter 8

_Had an AP Psychology essay today, part one of the two-day test. Joyful. =_= My brain is rooottttiiiiinnnngggg...! Not to mention that, when I woke up, my arm was stiff and sore. Blech. But still, donating was worth it. :) On a different note, I got most of my family members out of the way for Christmas shopping! :D :D :D I'm suddenly kinda poor now, but the more I think about it the more I realize: I'm a senior in high school. What the heck do I need money for - movie tickets? Candy? Phone apps? Anyway, that's my view on it. xD xD I'm a generally strange person, so feel free to ignore me half of the time!_

_ But this is not that time! Awesome news you guys! :D :D A lot of people sent me PMs/ Reviews that a DA group was necessary! So, what did I do? I made a group! Yes peoples, the deviantart group is finally up and running! In fact, it started running just a few minutes ago (well, as I'm writing these words). It's a baby group right now, and it's up to you guys to help it out! :D My username on DA is Rand0mSmil3z (yes, I know. Original. xD) and the group is called Humanity-Eternity (yes, I know. Also original). :D :D So, please go there and watch the group! I will update all of my chapters there eventually, plus some extra once I get around to it. :D _

_ That said, thank you all so much for making both stories so popular. Honestly, in a million years I never would have guessed! I mean, 50000 views on Humanity alone and just a smidgen under 10000 for this story in only a couple weeks? Holy Helicopters in Heaven, that's crazy! You all have no idea how thankful I am :) Honestly, it makes writing this story so much better! Thank you all!_

_ Two sets of replies this time: Humanity and Eternity (I feel bad for ignoring the Humanity people!)_

_**Humanity**_

****_keotey1228: Hahaha don't stay up late on my account! :D This story isn't going anywhere!_

_ hollowgirl15: Awww thank you! :D :D :D_

_ frozen-clocks: :D :D :D Hehehe thank you! And yes, I have published a couple books. :) I'll send you a PM with the links! :D :D :D You totally made my day, thank you so much!_

_**Eternity**_

****_Crystal Peak: Thank you :D In my country too they're super strict about blood donations and all of that. And yes, I will _definitely _keep writing!_

_ Mariolka: Get better soon! :D_

_ chibi heishi: I do remember what you said about the plot, and I'm pleased to hear that you find it very Satisfying! xD And yes! I promised that there will be a happy ending, and I always keep my promises!_

_ angelwhisperer: Bunnymund is coming! I got this nagging feeling that if I introduced him now, I'd end up pushing him aside. But don't worry! He'll become essential later :D_

_ Luna Moon Frost: I got it all (errrr... some of it...?) on DA! :D :D :D And I'd totally love to be your friend there! Add me! :D :D :D_

_ SeaChick: :O I'm inspiring?! I've never thought of myself as inspiring before... crazy, insane, and slightly dumb is a definite yes, but never inspiring! :D :D :D You made me smile, thank you so much! (And yes, donating blood is totally worth it. :) You don't have to hold a gun or become a doctor to save lives :D Plus, knowing your blood type is really cool hahah) And that was all nightmarish. Everything right now is in Jack's head... so far!_

_ Alright! :D Time to start chapter 8!_

* * *

Jack Frost was no longer just a winter spirit. Jack Frost was a winter spirit on a mission: he wanted hot-cold chocolate and by golly, he was going to get some.

A few of the elves, most likely part of the cleaning committee, shot Jack odd looks as he crept down the halls. Some even dashed out of the way as if scared he was going to slick the floor. But not tonight; Jack didn't want to talk to anyone or see anyone. He just wanted to be alone with a cup of icy hot chocolate in his hands. So Jack crept down the hallways like a ninja, checking and double checking the corners just in case he spotted Tooth or North.

Eventually he got to the kitchen, though it was a slow and laborious process. Jack took a deep breath, grinning. The smells coming from the wide wooden doors were the same, the same peppermint and chocolate smell.

He loved chocolate. _And peppermint bark, _Jack added with a grin as he gently pushed open the doors. Elves were the cooks around here and even Jack had to admit that the stuff they made weren't half bad. Especially the cookies; the cookies were to die for. But Jack didn't want cookies.

He wanted some hot-cold chocolate.

* * *

North waited impatiently for Sandy to come. His foot tapped absentmindedly on the ground, his arms fiddling with her beard. Sometimes he inspected his tattoos; one arm read 'naughty', the other read 'nice', and even though he was Russian the tattoo was in English. After all, wasn't English the universal language these days? Though, in hindsight, it wasn't the language that mattered when it came to the children - it was the heart.

The globe shone in the moonlight above him, shining in the night like a constellation of twinkling stars. Here and there another pinprick of light would flare to life; other times, one would die out like a firefly turning off its bulb to greet the new day. But North wasn't sad; this was the natural course of life. All children grow up, fall prey to the _things _of the world, and forgot about the people, the Guardian's, that helped them get there.

Suddenly the air popped around him, and North turned just in time to see two yetis and a very grumpy Sandman in the middle.

"Ah, Sandy!" North exclaimed. "How nice of you to come!"

Sandy scowled and a thousand question marks exploded on his head like golden fireworks, all at the same time.

North sighed. "Yes yes, I know Sandy. But this is important, and I need you."

Sandy's expression softened - but only slightly. Now a big question mark popped over his head.

"Jack is in trouble," North answered, voice uncharacteristically serious. "He gets these nightmares."

Instantly Sandy was on guard, eyes wide as an image of a galloping horse appeared over his head in a flash of golden sand. The meaning was obvious; he was asking if it were Pitch.

* * *

Jack, incredibly satisfied, was walking back to his room with his hands wrapped around a cup of hot-cold chocolate. It was essentially hot chocolate, but with ice cubes piles high in the ceramic mug. _What if I freeze the hot chocolate into ice cubes? _Jack thought, then grinned. Sometimes his brilliance even astounded _him. _

He walked until he heard whispers. It was North, seemingly talking to himself. Being in a much better mood, Jack thought that that was funny and decided to investigate.

Hot-cold chocolate in hand, he pressed his back against the corner. Suddenly he remembered the _last _time he listened in on a conversation; it was one month ago, back when Pitch broke his staff and he winded up as a human. Jack peered at his staff, carefully held in the crook of his elbow. He never let his staff out of his sight anymore.

Suddenly the whispers began again. "Pitch?" said the all-too familiar voice of North. There was an unintelligible noise, then "I thought of this... but Pitch Black has been defeated, thanks to Jack," he added. "Pitch Black is weak, powerless, defenseless... he doesn't have the power to cause something of this magnitude."

Jack Frost froze; out of all the things he expected to hear, it wasn't _this. _He wanted to leave now, maybe save the rest of his rapidly disappearing cheerful mood, but his feet felt frozen in place. So Jack continued to listen.

"Yes, Sandy," North said after a pause. "That's exactly why I need you... just to make sure."

Jack scowled... just to make sure? _Just to make sure of wha..._

Then it all clicked. Why else would North call Sandy? It was because of _him, _Jack Frost, the baby of the Guardians. His hands gripped the mug of hot-cold chocolate, though it had somehow frozen completely over. How come everyone had to help out _him? _Why couldn't they just _trust _him for once, just _leave him alone?!_

"Jack's room is this way," North said suddenly. "Follow me; he should still be asleep." A pause. "No, I haven't heard anything yet, not like before..."

Before Jack knew it, he was running. His footsteps were completely silent, a skill he perfected with three hundred years of practice. No hot-cold chocolate spilt out of his cup; after all, it had all been frozen solid. He didn't care where he ran, didn't care where he ended up. He just had to get away; the images of North pointing his sword at Jack's throat, saying that he was never a Guardian, played over and over again in his mind.

But eventually he slowed down. _Why am I running? _Jack asked himself, breathing hard. He wasn't sure where he was, maybe in some abandoned hallway, but he didn't care. _After all, _he thought, _North told me, in the graveyard, that I would always be a friend to him. Family even. Always. _

Jack took a deep breath, forced his legs to stop. He stared at his cup with a blank expression, the cogs of his mind spinning ferociously. But some of the pieces were missing, others felt broken and cracked. He felt deep down that something was wrong, that something had been _changed. _Yet he still couldn't get that questions out of his head:

_Why am I running?_

* * *

_ Short chapter today folks; sorry about that. But it was either this or nothing, because I have to study for part two of my AP Psychology test. It's all about how we learn... fantastic. But here's the secret to it all; reward yourself periodically. :D Of course, you need a will of steel to do it... Good luck!_

_ Anyway, here's something random: I think Jack's theme song could be Some Nights by Fun. or Home by Phillip Phillips... thoughts?_

_ Rand0mSmil3z_

_ PS: The hot-cold chocolate was a real hit! xD xD xD Made me laugh so hard! You guys are all awesome!_

_ PPS: I'm getting this feeling that my pre-chapter rants are way too long. I'll try to shorten it next time... =_= sorry people_

_ PPPS: Remember: there's a group dedicated to this fanfic on DA. :D It was added today, so it's still a baby group! You don't have to watch it or anything, but if you do you'll be doing me a real favor :D Thank you all! _


	9. Chapter 9

_I'll apologize in advance; my cat is having surgery today... Buster. I found him in my grandma's backyard with a hole in his tummy about four years ago, and since then he's become an awesome cat :) Even follows me as I walk the dog hahaha. But... yeah. Sorry if this chapter isn't one of my best. :) I hope you'll like it anyway!_

_ Tanglemorph: I actually have no clue of North's place is called Santoff Clausen or not, I've just seen it like that in other fanfics and thought it was right *_* Well, that and it was awkward to always call it 'North's place' or 'North's castle' in Humanity.. but maybe that was just me haha_

_ Lord of the Disc: Hun, I'm not going for the professional look with this story; I'm writing this for fun, because I like too :) My other two books do the professional thing for me hahaha :D And as for the whole reply/ rant thing, I probably couldn't bear to stop! But I can compromise; I'll make them way shorter for now on. Sorry :( But I'm glad you're enjoying the story though! :)_

_ Lunapoo: In Humanity I tried the whole North-accent thing... it nearly killed me, so I ended up rewriting it hahaha :) But I'll try to add his awesome Russian accent for now on_

_ chibi heishi: I'm glad you loved ninja Jack :D And hopefully I'll cure your worry... :) This story will have a happy ending, I promise_

_ VideoGamingFreak1213: Thank you :) I'm actually not great at characterization, so I'm glad you think that I'm doing a decent job haha_

_ Lightningpool: Bingo :)_

_ TheBlackPhantom: hahahah :D that was the most glorious thing... pure brilliance wrapped up in a burrito of amazing and layered with awesome-sauce! :D_

_ Well then, let's start chapter nine :)_

* * *

The night was frozen, a symphony of snowflakes and frost that crept up the window like tiny spiders, all striving to find their place in the icy moonlight. The wood floor was covered with a thin skin of ice; the walls were exactly the same. The room was cold, covered in a silvery sheen of frost; practically frozen in time. On the window, Jack traced an outline of a star; his finger squeaked over the glass pane. With a sigh he smudged the star away.

This cold room was perfect for him.

Somehow Jack made it back to his room before North and Sandy even got halfway. His cup of hot-cold chocolate lay forgotten on the floor, frozen solid inside the ceramic mug. Jack idly kicked it around with the butt of his staff, trying to get it to stand upright. It became a game, but for some reason he just couldn't win.

Though he seemed dazed and numb from the outside, on the inside his mind was a jumble of disconnected thoughts. It almost his thoughts, his memories, were a single strip of fabric. But now it was starting to ravel, with random memories with loose ends stripping away at the others. How simple was a memory.

_I had no problem before, _Jack thought, kicking the cup across the room. It skid across the thin veil of ice like a rock skips across a lake. _But now... _Jack turned back towards the window, scowling. Every time he thought back to the moment at the lake, the moment he stopped being Jackson Overland and began Jack Frost. Pitch was there. That felt _wrong _somehow, just downright _wrong, _but Jack couldn't remember _why. _

Now it was like a domino effect; if he and Pitch were friends, why were they fighting? How come Jack couldn't remember Pitch after that either, not until the moment Man in the Moon chose him to be a Guardian.

Jack placed an idle hand at his neck, rubbing the sore spot. _It doesn't add up, _he thought, idly staring at the moon. It's pale glow warmed him, turned the snow outside into frozen sculptures of gorgeous silver. The purest silver. The type of silver that pierced the cold night like a knife.

Suddenly the door gently creaked open. Jack didn't mind; he knew it was coming. North and Sandy were slow, but they were going to reach his room eventually. So he turned around - he felt tired, so tired - and simply said, "What?"

* * *

North blinked. For a second, split second, he didn't see Jack as a child. For a moment as the winter spirit stared at the frozen land outside, Jack seemed more ancient, like a wandering soul that has never rest a day in its long life before. For a split second he thought Jack _knew; _he wasn't sure about what exactly, but Jack simply _knew. _

"What?"

Suddenly Jack was staring at him and Sandy, staring at them with his icy blue eyes. There was no warmth there anymore, no childlike innocence, no laughter. This was Jack Frost, the winter spirit; not Jack Frost the trickster, the prankster, the optimist. This Jack... this Jack was different, a hidden side of the youngest Guardian that very few had ever seen before.

North cleared his throat. This Jack he couldn't lie to, couldn't sweet-talk his way to Jack's mind or promise empty promises. So, he decided the simplest thing yet; he decided to tell the Guardian the plain truth. "I brought Sandy here to..." he began, but was cut off.

"I already know," Jack sighed, turning back out the window, then repeated, "I already know."

North blinked; Jack seemed tired, bone tired. _As if he hasn't been getting enough sleep, _he thought with a scowl. At his side Sandy turned to North, lightly frowning, before gently gloating to Jack. Golden sand spiraled through the air as it followed him, throwing light shadows across the ice and playing small games in their icy depths.

Sandy lightly bobbed next to Jack and gently grabbed his hand. Jack scowled, tried to pull his hand away, but stopped when Sandy grinned at him. In the winter spirit's cold palm he made an image of a girl and a boy, the boy taller than the girl, ice skating over a frozen golden lake.

North watched, amazing, at the emotions that flitted across Jack's pale face. First it was astonishment, then happiness, then longing, then confusion... all in a split second.

"Why are you showing me this?" Jack asked.

Sandy only smiled and held up Jack's palm again. This time is was a different scene; a middle aged woman, skating across the frozen lake of golden sand. But there was a spot she wouldn't go near; the center of the lake. Suddenly two children suddenly fell into the picture, silently hollering in the golden sand, running up to the woman who was obvious their mother. She silently laughed, bent down to pick them up...

Suddenly Jack jerked his hand away, and the golden sand evaporated into the air. "Stop," he said. "Just... Just stop."

North's eyes widened. He had never heard Jack beg, ever.

But Sandy only smiled, and held his hand out for Jack's hand again. Jack eyed it suspiciously before giving in and allowed Sandy to make one more image.

This time there were five figures; they were all packed together in what looked like a massive sleigh. They sailed in Jack's palm, circling through his fingers and around his wrist.

And suddenly Jack understood, all of the images clicking into one. Family; Sandy was teaching him in silent words about _family, _that it didn't matter what you looked like, how old you are, or what century you lived in. Family was family, and Jack was a part of one - a family of Guardians.

Jack smiled as the sand faded away in his hand. "Thanks Sandy," he whispered.

Suddenly, all of the loose ends that flooded his mind didn't seem to matter so much anymore.

* * *

Pitch slumped in his stone throne, glaring at the ceiling. No; he was glaring through the ceiling, out to the sky above.

_The Sandman ruins everything, _he thought, teeth barred in a snarl. His hands gripped the sides of his seat as he tried to push himself upright. Yet he knew, knew deep down, that he would be able to do one thing about it: _Nothing. _

Then he smiled; there was actually one thing that he could do. One simple thing.

He just had to influence more of Jack's memories, tweak them, manipulate them, shape them like wet clay.

After all, though _Pitch _wasn't strong enough to defy the Guardian's any longer, _Jack _could. And what better way to get revenge on the cursed winter spirit? How would Jack feel to destroy his entire pathetic family?

The shadows moved across the wall, the darkness crept in the air like a plague.

_After all, _Pitch smirked, _Guardian's may be immortal, but that doesn't mean that you couldn't freeze them under the ocean for eternity. _

_ And then, _he thought, warming up to this idea of his, _the children would stop believing in the Guardians and I'll finally rise up again. _

In the darkness, the plague of darkness that made up the stairwells to nowhere and the cliffhanger hallways, Pitch Black laughed as only he could.

* * *

_ Sorry everyone. Another short chapter. Since tomorrow is Friday, I'll have more time to work on this. :) And, of course, that means a longer chapter. _

_ By the way, if you haven't added the group of deviantart yet, please do! Once it is up and running (I'll work on it this weekend) I'll be adding extra stuff there. Plus, it'll be easier to put up the cover art there and the fan art some of you have been telling me about. :) Which, by the way, is totally awesome! :D The group is called Humanity-Eternity (creative, I know) and my Username is the same as it is here ( Rand0mSmil3z ) in case you can't find it. :)_

_ Thank you all for the support everyone! You have no idea how much it means to me. :) Not even kidding, makes me smile all the time. I'm still surprised by all the positive feedback :D Thanks for making my days a little bit brighter, everyone! _

_ Until next time, _

_ Rand0mSmil3z_


	10. Chapter 10

_Good news! :D My cat is going to be okay! However, during the surgery to remove the growth on his throat, they discovered that my cat also has a common cat disease; basically, his immune system attacks the roots of his teeth. They pulled three teeth during the surgery, and my cat may truly be toothless by the time he's an old little kitty. But hey - at least he has the chance to grow old. :D _

_ Oh! And I was asked this last chapter but it totally slipped my mind - Sorry! My two published stories are called Breaking Point and The Dark Arts :D I'm still a novice writer, definitely not a J.K. Rolling or Christopher Paolini, but I'm working hard to be! :D Maybe one day!_

_ Anyway, time for the replies (there were fewer this time so I'll keep it short for once! hahaha)_

_ Guest: Awww thank you! :D But lemme tell you a secret - listening to music while writing helps. :D It helps set the mood, ya know? Anyway, good luck with writing! I'd love to read some of your stories! :D_

_ Crystal Peak: hahah I totally know what you mean!_

_ Luna Moon Frost: Of course it will sweetie! :D Every story deserves a happy ending! And no worries, I saw your DA request and added you! Can't wait to read another chapter of your fanfic - update quick! :D :D_

_ OtakuAme: Thank you :)_

_ So, I just hit the true plotline last chapter... let's continue it with chapter 9. :D_

* * *

Tooth's violet eyes wandered from the snow, drifting gently down outside the window, to the frosted earth below, then back again. She sighed, her breath fogging up the class. In her hands Baby Tooth, half asleep, stirred slightly only to go back to snuggling in her momma's warm palm. Tooth couldn't resist a small smile at her little tooth sprite before looking back out the window again, to the winter wonderland she had never been a part of.

In truth, even though North asked her to stay an extra night she would have stayed anyway. She was worried, so worried, for poor Jack. His eyes, icy blue eyes that seemed to hold an inner flame, were so wide and so _scared, _so _confused _when he first saw her. It was like he was still asleep, staring into the eyes of his dream and wondering what had gone wrong...

Tooth suddenly shook her head, her iridescent green feathers catching the wind. _I have to be strong, _she thought. _I have to be strong for Jack. _

Then it suddenly hit her; instead of sitting here by the window moping, why not help? She might not be able to help like Sandy, might not be as big and strong as North, or may not be as brave as Bunnymund, but she was smart. She was quick. She was _clever. _

In an instant she was in the air, wings a blur on her back as they carried her. Baby Tooth was startled awake in her hands, but instinctively knew what was happening and settled back down the moment her momma darted out the door and down the hall.

_I can help, _she thought determined, buzzing through the hallways faster than a true hummingbird. In a moment she was at the great wooden doors of the infirmary and, without missing a beat, threw the doors wide open.

Bottles of forgotten liquid, still in their glass beakers, lay haphazardly on the counters. Hot plates, used for heating the chemicals, lay stacked against the wall. Tooth grinned and hurried to one of the cabinets, throwing it wide.

This is what she needed.

_After all, _Tooth thought, grabbing different sorts of bottles and extracts in a blur, _I'm a Guardian too. _

Soon her assorted bottles were all placed neatly on a counter; there were different herb extracts, different sorts of roots, different sorts of nutrients. It was a simple plan, really; if she could get rid of the bruise on Jack's neck, would his nightmares go away?

Tooth smiled excitedly, pouring different contents together with an efficiency only she possessed. To anyone else it was a random process, as if she were mixing random chemicals together. But no; there was a pattern to it all, an underlying connection to each of the herbs and roots, and all of it weaved together in a way only Tooth was able to understand. True, it would be bitter but in the end, it would _work. _

Suddenly a chill descended into the air; not Jack's type of chill, but the chill that something bad was just about to happen. Tooth shivered, then turned to her little sprite.

"Did you feel that?" she whispered.

Baby Tooth gulped and nodded.

Tooth turned back to her assortment of bottles and worked all the faster; time was running out, and it was running out quickly.

* * *

North stalked down the hallway, unease building in his belly. Jack fell asleep. No; 'fell' was the wrong work. Jack _plummeted _to sleep; one moment he and Sandy were making little images at each other, the next Jack tipped sideways and passed out on the floor. Granted, it startled North but then Sandy waved at him with a mischievous grin. North only rolled his eyes, said, "Nice one Sandy," and left the Sandman to his work.

After all, what could North do it the realm of dreams? _Nothing, _he thought bitterly. He felt helpless at that point, almost as if he let the winter spirit down.

Suddenly there was a chill in the air, almost as if the world had gone dark... and the darkest part had fallen on his corner of the world. North turned back towards the general direction of Jack's bedroom; he was meaning to pay visit to Tooth and ask for her advice, but now...

North turned and headed right back in the direction he came. He couldn't tell how he knew, didn't know how he could tell. But he did know, deep down in his belly...

Jack was going to have another nightmare.

* * *

Jack stared at the moon, that pale orb shining on the earth below. Snow covered the ground, and a chill gripped the air by the throat. He had a fun day; made a kids tongue freeze in a water fountain, started more than a few snowball fights, even took a kid named Jamie for a wild ride with a sled. He had a lot of fun today; Jack loved the fun.

But why did he feel so empty inside?

Jack's sapphire eyes lay transfixed with the moon, silently begging for answers. But Jack never begged, oh no. "You put me here... you could at least tell me _why," _he demanded. He paused, waiting for a response. Silver moonlight was a glow on his frozen world, the only constant in his ever changing life.

And, like before and like always, the Man in the Moon was consistently _silent._

Jack's shoulders drooped and he quickly put up the hood on his blue, frost-bitten hoodie. Silently, with a grace only Jack seemed to possess, he jumped into the air. The wind gently picked him up, almost as if it were afraid that if it tugged to hard, Jack would shatter into a million pieces. But Jack didn't notice, only lightly landed on the power lines that crisscrossed the houses above.

He twirled his staff in his palm, then lightly pressed it across the thick cord. With the flick of his wrist the staff snapped across the metal, sending frost arching into the air and layers the cord with a thin sheet of ice. It was decorative almost, with elegant swirls running through it. This was his frost, his namesake, his very personality. The frost was see-through, just like everyone assumed he was: that Jack Frost only had fun, that he never worried, that he was the type that never had a down day in his life. But _his _frost was different; it had different layers, different swirls and different hues... much like him.

Jack peered upside-down into a window, a smiled. It was a bedroom for a little boy; he was snuggled in his bed, his mother leaning over him for a goodnight kiss. The boy's father was leaning by the doorway, gently smiling at the scene. Jack was smiling too, but for a different reason... he wanted to have a family too.

Suddenly the glass fogged up. Jack glared at it, as if it had personally offended him, before standing back up again.

Then he saw it, saw the blur of darkness out of the corner of his eye. That was exactly what Jack needed; he needed a good ol' chase to lift his spirits.

So, with a wild grin, Jack took off running. He used every tactic available; he used the wind, used his staff to hook onto cloth lines as he swung across like Tarzan, that cartoon character he briefly saw on a kid's TV once but didn't really know. He sprinted over roof tiles and left frozen footsteps behind him. But above all Jack forced his mind to empty, to focus on just how fun chasing things were.

_Especially, _he thought with a mischievous grin, _when you don't know what you're chasing._

He saw the dark blur disappear into an alleyway; Jack was quick behind, landing in the alleyway with barely a whisper. He kept his staff ready, low and parallel to the ground, ready to blast whatever it was out of existence.

Suddenly he heard a crunch; he spun around, heart thumping wildly. Nothing; only a wall.

"'Ey, mate." Jack jumped and spun around again. But then only a bunny... _no, _he thought, _a Kangaroo- _stepped out of the shadows. "Been a long time," Bunnymund, the Easter Bunny, said. He was idly sharpening his boomerang, and pointed the tip at Jack. "Blizzard of '68, I believe. Easter Sunday, wasn't it?"

Jack lightly chuckled, swinging his staff around to casually lean against it with his sapphire eyes gleaming mischievously. His neck hurt, but he didn't mind it much. "Bunny," he said cheerfully. "You're not still mad about _that, _are ya?"

Suddenly Jack's neck flared in pain again; he winced, slapping his hand against the sore spot. _What the...? _he thought. _Did I get hit or something? _Jack scowled; he couldn't remember, and so he didn't particularly care. Instead he turned back to Bunnymund, meaning to say something else snarky, but froze instead.

Bunnymund's usually grass-green eyes flared a brilliant gold before resuming their shade. A heavy fog seemed to fall down on them, yet only fell on their corner of the world. "Yes," Bunnymund growled, "I am."

Suddenly the Easter Bunny launched himself forward. Jack's sapphire eyes widened and, with a yelp, quickly drew up his staff to block the blow. Bunnymund's boomerang smashed against the hard wood, his face inches away from Jack's.

Jack's breath came as quick pants. "Look," he gasped, "I won't ever do it again, okay? No more blizzards on Easter Sunday, I pro-"

Suddenly golden sand fell on top of him, almost like tiny shimmering snowflakes. Jack watched, transfixed, as the image of Bunnymund seemed to waver on top of him. It seemed like the Easter Bunny was being filtered through water and, when Jack looked closely enough, it looked like tiny tendrils of black sand spiderwebbing under its skin.

"What the..." he muttered out loud.

"_But this is about something else." _Jack winced and squeezed his eyes shut as the voice, as Bunnymund's voice, bounced around inside his skull. He forced his eyes to open; through the haze, he was able to see a second form of the Easter Kangaroo. But it was also wavering, almost as if it were made out of smoke.

He glanced back at the figure on top of him; _this _Bunnymund was snarling, snarling through a filmy haze, saying something that Jack couldn't quite make out. Its voice came out distorted, like it was speaking under water...

The second Bunnymund was the same thing.

With a grunt Jack through the creepy Bunnymund off of him and, panting, he took shaky steps backwards. Both Bunnymunds were staring at him, both wavering and practically translucent, both speaking at the same time. One spoke _"Fellas", _the other - the bad Bunnymund - said, _"You can't be a Guardians, you're too weak, too..."_

"Stop!" Jack shouted, holding his splitting head. It felt like it was going to crack in two.

But the voices didn't stop; he could hear the familar grunts and gargles of yetis, heard his own surprised gasp bounce painfully around his skull. Could feel the other Bunnymund saying how much of a failure was, listing off the ways that Jack Frost could never, ever become a Guardian. All of the voices mixed together in his mind like soup; indiscernible from the other, each echoing inside of him like a thousand flaming daggers.

"_Stop it!" _Jack shouted. Golden sand fell from the sky, mixing in with the black fog. _"Stop it!" _Jack shouted again. He cracked his eyes open and, with a gasp, used his staff to fire dozen's of his frozen bullets at wherever the voices were coming from, wherever the two different voices were colliding.

But they didn't stop.

The golden sand kept falling, the dark fog kept rolling in.

His head felt like it was splitting, splitting from the two distinct voices inside of him. But now he couldn't tell which one was the good Bunnymund, which one was the bad, which one was real and which one was the fake...

_"Stop it...!"_

Jack's eyes snapped open, blank and unseeing, the two fragments of the dream - the memory - blurred together like a twisted piece of scrap metal.

The nightmare had finally ended.

* * *

_The nightmare is from the movie; I haven't seen the movie in a while so hopefully the dialogue is correct. Also, in case that it was confusing, the two 'images' of Bunnymund are two sides - Pitch's version in order to mess up Jack's memories, and Sandy's version as he tries to keep the memory accurate. I tried to use the golden sand/ black fog to help keep it together, but I'm not sure how it worked out haha :)_

_ Anyway! To those who have been asking for Bunnymund (the real one!) just wanted to say that he'll come into play later in the story; I simply don't need him yet!_

_ And a side note, I made a group for Humanity and Eternity on - just look up my username (Rand0mSmil3z) or search Humanity-Eternity in the search engine under 'groups' . :D It's a baby group still, but once I get caught up and upload everything I'll probably be adding a little extra. :D Plus, you can submit your fanart/cover art there - if you do you're free to request any type of story, one shot, etc. I've never done anything like that before, but I'll try my very best! :D Thank you everyone!_

_ Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and until next time!_

_ Rand0mSmil3z_

_ :D_


	11. Chapter 11

_ You know what's awesome? Drinking hot chocolate - not the iced kind that Jack drinks :P - with tiny little marshmallows in it. Then you go and sit by the fire, with the Christmas tree all lit up with rainbow lights, with your (groggy, loopy) cat sitting right next to you. Laptop is on your lap, Microsoft word it open and your just writing away, one hand wrapped around the hot mug of hot chocolate and the other typing away as you try to eat the baby marshmallows. _

_ ...and there's no snow outside. Only green grass and palm trees. Blech. I wanna see snow :(_

_ ANYWAY, guess what everyone?! This story finally has some coverart, and you can thank __**sifberg **__for that! :D Ahhh it's so awesome! Totally made my entire day!_

_ So, here's the new dealio! :D Humanity still needs some coverart (well, that and I'd really like to see everyone's take on these two stories in an artistic way) so whoever sends me some art, I'll stick it in the group on DA and write you a story (whatever genre/plot you want! ) :D Plus, the first Humanity coverart will get to be used here, on , for basically ever. Like always, I'll give you full credit in the summary!_

* * *

Jack stared blankly at the ceiling. His mind hurt, felt like it had snapped in two, the memories a single blur. His hands still trembled from the adrenaline, his mind set in an endless loop. But the film was tattered, blurred, broken and, no matter how many times he tried to make sense of it all, he simply couldn't.

He didn't understand.

Suddenly he noticed Sandy was hovering above him on his golden cloud, peering down at him with a worried expression. Jack opened his mouth to say something stupid, something like 'what, do I have something on my face?' or 'You know, it's creepy when you watch someone else sleep.' But the words didn't come out, stay trapped inside him like a steel vice.

The memory rewound and replayed, the same scene shown over and over again. There were two Bunnymunds... once was furious, the other was slightly annoyed.

_Which one is real?_

Suddenly the door was slammed open. Jack jumped, nerved frayed enough as it is. Sandy shot North a death glare.

North cringed. "Oh, sorry," he whispered, lightly shutting the door. But Jack didn't turn his way, didn't even care. His mind was cluttered with the images, the disjointed images that didn't make any sense.

_What one is real?_

He felt the bed groan as North sat down on it, felt his large hands gently ruffle his silver hair. The moonlight shown through the window and illuminated a white square on the bed that slunk down to the floor.

"Jack." North's voice was warm yet worried. "What's wrong?"

He was half aware that explosions of sand-images were popping above Sandy's head but all too aware that his brain was having trouble understanding the question. His reality was absorbed by the two opposite memories, the two memories that seemed to war with each other.

_What one is real?_

Suddenly the question made sense. Jack swallowed, gripped the cold sheets in his colder hands. He knew, deep down inside, that he couldn't just say a 'I'm fine' and expect the problem to go away. No; there was a problem. A big problem, one that Jack was scared that he couldn't fix on his own.

Jack always did things on his own.

He turned to North, sapphire eyes filled with panic-stricken uncertainty. "Something's wrong, North," he whispered. North's eyes widened - in truth, he wasn't expecting an answer. "Something's wrong," Jack repeated, turning away. "I... I can't..." His head flared, his neck pulsed with pain. "It's all mixed up," he finally gasped.

North leaned in closer, placed a firm reassuring hand on his slim shoulder. "What's all mixed up?" he pressed. Above them, Sandy was having a silent frustration attack - sometimes he really wished that he could scream out the answer sometimes.

But Jack didn't even noticed, only focused on a knot in the wood that made up the wall. "My memories," he whispered. "They're all... it's all... it's like, jumbling up. Which one is real?" he asked, begging for an answer. "How do I know which ones are fake? How do I find out which ones are real?"

Suddenly it felt like his throat was closing. His vision flared white, the edged slowly grew darker as he struggled to breath. Hands gripped his shoulders in an instant, lightly shaking him back and forth.

"Breath, Jack. Breath. You'll be fine," North said, shooting for the reassuring tone and missing entirely.

"But I _won't _be!" Jack protested through a constricted throat. "What if I forget my past? What if I forget Man in the Moon, or Jamie, or all of you guys?" His voice cracked under pressure. "I don't want to forget!"

"A-And you won't!" North said, voice straining to be cheerful. "We'll fix you up in no time. We saved the world, right?" Jack nodded sullenly. "Well, then we can definitely save you," North finished, ruffling Jack's hair one more time.

Jack's blue eyes widened. "How?" he demanded. "Tell me how."

At that Sandy finally got the attention he deserved by floating inches from Jack's face. His golden eyes looked into the blue orbs dead in the eye and Sandy, with exaggerated flare, pointed to himself.

"Yeah, Sandy can help you," he babbled. "After all, Sandy is an expert on dreams and stuff. And Tooth... Tooth is an expert on memories," he added, his train of thought rolling right along. "She has your baby teeth, right? So you won't ever forget your past."

At that Jack's eyes widened. "I... I guess so," he mumbled finally, but quickly added, "but it's still not the same."

"Of course it's not," North said with false cheerfulness, "but that's what Sandy is for, yah?"

Jack turned his gaze away before turning back to North. Suddenly everything didn't feel so confusing, the broken bits of memory not as bad. His head still hurt, his neck still throbbed, but it was bearable.

_Maybe it's because I do have a family now._

Jack smirked. "Yah," he said, mimicking the big man. "And by the way," he added with a grin, "hot chocolate tastes way better cold."

* * *

_I'm going through a writer's block and can't seem to find the words to make this chapter longer. I wanted to, I tried eight different times in eight different ways. But nope - nada. So, since it bothers me to have half-finished chapters lying around, I'm just going to upload this now. =_= Sorry. That said, I really needed to have a more-or-less happy Jack after the last depressing chapter. Unfortuently, the further we go into the story, the more Jack is gonna become confused and generally more irritable. So, I'm enjoying this while I can haha_

_ Anyway, one of my friends - Luna Moon Frost - has started her very own ROTG story! :D Please check it out; all of the authors on fanfic write this stories for us, but upload them for all of you. So, if you have a little bit of free time, please check out her story! :D_

_ I also have some more info on this story: This story will be longer than Humanity, maybe even by a lot since 1- I'm not starting from the middle and 2- there are a whole bunch of memories that need to be changed before the real fun begins and Bunnymund makes his grand appearance. I'm working on getting there, one day at a time. :D _

_ Until Next Time!_

_ Rand0mSmil3z _


	12. Chapter 12

_ Still limping through a writer's block. 0_0 Honestly, it feels like my brain has broken. I don't even know what to put in the pre/post chapter rants. That worries me. So, I'm recovering by reading a ton. Hopefully that'll work haha_

_ That said, I'm totally willing to take requests! :D Just go to the group on deviantart (Humanity-Eternity) and see everything there; __**that's **__where all of the request stories will go. Maybe if I get enough, I'll throw them all here. :D Too bad I can't post the fanart here! Ahhh they're all so amazing! To everyone who made some, thank you so much! I'm jealous of your artsy skills hahaha xD But seriously, who would have expected that Humanity and Eternity would get fanart? Not me, that's for sure. Ahhh you guys are too amazing. Honestly, I love writing this story because of you guys :D So thank you for that!_

_ I'm going to skip the replying for today (sorry!) but to everyone who did review this story, you're awesome. :D Thank you all so much; I read them all and each one makes me grin like a dork! xD Thank you for all of the support; hopefully I'll recover from the writer's block and make you all proud!_

_ Well then, let's get chapter 12 started. :D Hope you enjoy it! Why? I don't. x_x stupid writer's block._

* * *

Jack felt nauseous just looking at it. "What is this?" he asked Tooth with a scowl. In his hand was 'medicine', as Tooth called it, but to Jack it looked more like toxic waste.

"It'll help the bite on your neck," Tooth beamed. Baby Tooth chirped in affirmation and plopped down in Jack's hair; it had become her new favorite spot to take a nap.

Jack glanced at the 'medicine' again; it looked like thick, green, slimy sludge that had been grouted out of a sewer and dumped into a glass bottle. When he lightly angled it to its side the green sludge oozed down the glass like snot. "And you want me... to drink this?" Jack muttered.

"Of course!" Tooth happily exclaimed, clapping her hands excitedly. "I promise it tastes much better than it looks!"

Jack peered at the toxic-waste looking stuff. "Uh-huh," he said, unconvinced.

"It'll help with the bruising," Tooth pointed out. "And it might even help the nightmares go away."

_They aren't nightmares, _Jack thought with a frown. _They're... they're something else. _But he eyed the horrible-looking green goo again, wondering if he maybe _should _drink it. After all, if it helps to unscramble his memories then...

His thoughts were cut off half-way as North leaned over him and plucked the green serum from his hands. "Open wide," North ordered, and before Jack had time to react North stuck the lip of the bottle in his mouth.

"_Aughgndpehffff!" _Jack tried to push the gross stuff away, but North was stronger. He felt with horror as the slime slowly oozed down his throat, slicking it with a layer of what felt like mucus. Sandy had to bind Jack with his golden whip, made entirely out of sand, and Tooth hovered inches from Jack's face. Baby Tooth was chirping up a storm in her unique laugh.

Finally North pulled the slime bottle away, and Jack rolled over to his side and coughed. The ooze felt heavy in his stomach, and his mouth tasted bitter and slimy.

"How do you feel?" Tooth asked, hovering around him with a curious expression.

Jack glared at her and coughed once more before growling a, "Fine." In reality, that was probably the single most disgusting thing that had ever happened to him. It felt like he just drank a gallon of pure green slimy _snot. _

Jack shivered; the thought itself was too gross.

"You okay?" North asked. "Feel different?"

"I feel like I guzzled snot," Jack scowled, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. "But other than that, not re..."

_Snap. _

Tooth watched in horror as Jack's sapphire eyes glazed over, as if had been looking at a mirror and didn't recognize the face looking back, and suddenly relaxed. He didn't fall over per say, but all of the tension released from his shoulders and arms. It was worrisome.

"Jack!" she cried out, zooming towards him in a colorful blur. Baby Tooth was already next to Jack, chirping in hyper speed. Tooth grabbed his thin shoulders, gently shook him back and forth. "Jack!" she shouted again. But Jack only looked blankly in the distance, the black tendrils on his throat not going away at all.

North was beside her in an instant. "What's going on?" he demanded. "What's happening?"

But Tooth only shook her head, tears blurring her vision as she peered into Jack's blank sapphire eyes. "I don't know," she choked out. Sandy frowned with a worried expression. "I, I _made _the medicine, it should work...!"

Suddenly Jack smiled, a carefree smile, a smile that made no sense whatsoever. Tooth blinked, inadvertently letting the built-up tears fall. "Wha...?

Jack cocked his head, scrunching his face up as if deep in though. "I... like chocolate," he slurred, as if he just said something profound.

Sandy and North turned to Tooth at the same time, both of their eyes wide. "Tooth," North asked finally, "what _exactly _was in that sludge?"

"Nothing bad!" Tooth protested. "I... I just put in some herbs, for the pain, and then some others for the swelling, and to speed up the molecular growth of that areas while cleaning out the bad ones, to speed up the retentive process in the damaged skin cells, to made the blood flow more efficient... and also," she added in a small voice, "added something else for the stress."

"How _much _did you add for the stress?"

Tooth batted her eyelashes sheepishly. "A lot," she mumbled, but quickly added, "Jack always looked so sad! Now look at him!" She gestured to Jack, who sat on the edge of the bed just derping ut a grin. "Doesn't he look better?"

As if noticing that all the attention was on him, Jack's smile widened. "I like snow too," he explained slowly. "I like _eating _snow. But not the yellow stuff," he added with a frown. "That's gross."

North glanced at Sandy, who shrugged and made a picture of a loopy-loop over his head. "How about let's get Jack somewhere safe," North suggested, "before he hurts himself."

Tooth puffed out a cheek indignantly, but scowled a "fine."

* * *

What was supposed to be 'somewhere safe' turned out to be North's toy factory. All of the yetis watched Jack with practiced eyes, waiting for the winter spirit to do anything particularly strange. However Jack, still loopy on whatever Tooth gave him, was naturally strange.

_"Higher!" _he shrieked to the wind. Within moments a gale lifted him off his feet and he was soaring with the flying helicopters and airplanes, weaving in and out of the tall wooden spires of Santoff Clausen. His laughed echoed off of the walls as North watched the boy, smiling to himself. After all, Jack finally looked like himself again.

_Well... as long as you ignore the black mark on his neck, _North thought to himself. It was a ragged and harsh thing that dyed the side of Jack's neck completely black. Tooth's mixture hadn't helped yet, but that didn't mean something could happen tomorrow.

Suddenly Jack soared down to the other Guardians, smiling like the child he was. "Tooth!" he cried out, grabbing her skinny feathered wrist. "Fly with me!"

Tooth blushed, and Baby Tooth huffed. "B-But I..."

"You have wings," Jack huffed. His eyes were still not quite focused yet. "You _fly."_

Tooth shot North and Sandy a look bordering terror and pure joy. North grinned and shooed her away with his hand, and with a wild whoop Jack lifted Tooth off the ground. She shrieked at first, but her shrieks soon turned to laughter.

_Who knew that flying could be so much fun? _Tooth thought, laughing as she twirled through the air. It was strange; she flew every day but never really _flew. _

* * *

Bunnymund was bored.

Easter was over by a month, so he had nothing really to do. His Easter eggs got made automatically, his Easter golems protected his springtime fortress. The grass was always green here, the flowers always vibrant and colorful. The sun stained the sky a permanent gold and cast dappled shadows on the world of spring below.

And Bunnymund was incredibly, incredibly, _incredibly _bored.

He absentmindedly twirled circles in the green grass stems, watched them bend and weave together. He had watched the clouds float dreamily across the sky, watched the sun set and rise every day.

But the thing was, he had no one to talk to. Children believed in him, true, but none of them were _here. _But in a sense, he was more like North; lived in his home the entire year but one. He couldn't visit Sandy; the Sandman didn't have a permanent address. Tooth did, but she was way up in the sky. Jack Frost, that snowcone, also didn't have a permanent address. North, on the other hand...

Finally Bunnymund got tired of being bored. _You know, _the Pooka thought, tapping the ground with his foot, _I haven't visited North in a while anyway. _

And with that, the Easter Bunny disappeared down the rabbit hole.

* * *

Jack grinned as the wind rustled his hair, sent him soaring through the toy shop of Santoff Clausen. Toys spun through the air around him, almost like a constellation of stars. He felt so happy, so free and so _light, _almost as if he was simply a paper being tossed around in the air...

Suddenly he felt his eyelids starting to droop. _No, _he thought, struggling to keep him open. But his fingertips were already going numb, his vision blurring. Sleep had grasped the winter spirit by the throat, dragging him down into a hole couldn't climb out of no matter how he struggled. He was dimly aware of the wind suddenly dying down, aware that he was falling. He was half aware of warm arms wrapping around him, a voice calling his name.

Jack liked that voice; it sounded sweet and kind, so full of warmth that the winter spirit was unaccustomed to.

His neck flared in pain, but it was muted somehow, didn't hurt so bad. His eyelids fluttered, his sapphire eyes dimming. The room flared once, a bright and beautiful light. The last thing Jack saw was the moon, watching him through the square hole in the wall, before sleep dragged him under. Sandy was already on his way, golden sand spiraling around him in a vain attempted to dive into Jack's dreams of his memory.

The nightmare wasn't over; it was just getting started.

* * *

_T_T My writer's block is killing me. So everyone, sorry if this chapter is absolute elephant turd because seriously, I don't like this chapter. I don't like this chapter at all. =_=_

_ Anyway! :D I'm pleased (and beyond thrilled!) to report that a lot of you guys have submitted fan / cover art! It's totally amazing! :D All of it (except for two) is in the group Humanity-Eternity (it's on deviantart; if you haven't checked it out yet, please do! It has extra stuff there that you won't find on !) That means that Humanity is finally not a naked story, it has some coverart and you can thank misszeldafan15 from DA! She's also on fanart, but I tried looking for the note you sent me and it got lost in the mass messages. D: So for that, I'm so so sorry! Anyway, you're art is amazing! :D So much better than what I even __**attempt!**__ xD So, thank you for making my day that much more amazing! You're awesome!_

_ And until next time,_

_ Rand0mSmil3z_


	13. Chapter 13

_Well, since last chapter was bad (in my opinion, but everyone else seemed to like it. :D You guys are all way too nice to me hahah! Honestly, the sweetest people ever. Thank you all!), I'm going to __**try **__to make this chapter better. How? Not sure - still on my writers block, but I'll definitely try my best! Besides, it rained today which put me in a fabulous mood. xD_

_ Reply time! I haven't done this in a while!_

_ Crystal Peak: Awww that was sweet! :D Thank you! I hope you recover from your writers block - when you do, write awesomely for the both of us xD I'm not sure when I'll recover hahaha_

_ Tzapporah: Ooh, I see! Thank you! :D I'll definitely fix that in the next coming chapters; I've actually never seen 'per se' written out, so 'per say' was the best I could think of xD Thank you for making it all so much better!_

_ VideoGamingFreak1213: No worries, it's the thought that counts! :D_

_ nimbi-piru: hahahah when I rean 'cutie-patutie' I laughed out loud. xD _

_ LotsOfChocolateOnTop: I remember your review on Humanity because I remember reading your username and think to myself, now there's a person who has it all figured out! xD And omigosh thank you so much! That was such a sweet thing to say, it totally made my week! :D_

_ BookWorm5635: evil ninja ducks will attack me if I don't update?! D: Noooo not the evil ninja ducks! Noooooooo...!_

_ oceanlover4evr: Dude, you just hit my awesome people list the moment you compared this story to Harry Potter. I mean, I'm sure that wasn't your intention - this story isn't nearly as amazing as the Harry Potter series - but still. xD Made my day!_

_ OKAY! :D Done with that! By the way everyone, I'll be taking requests now! :D More details at the end of the story!_

_ Well then! :D Time for chapter 13! WARNING - this chapter gets pretty intense at the end. If you are fragile, please skip this chapter... or maybe skip to the final sentence so you know what's going on later. _

_ Anyway, enjoy!_

_ **italics scenes are from Jack's perspective; I tried to make it obvious, but just in case_

* * *

Sandy was the first to see the winter spirit fall out of the sky like a rock, the wind waver around him as it struggled to keep Jack in the air. Tooth was screaming Jack's name, her wings a blur on her back as she tried to keep them both aloft.

But in the end it was Sandy that rescued the unconscious Jack. In a moment the Sandman was on his cloud of golden sand, rushing up to meet the boy that was falling to the earth like a fallen angel.

"Is Jack alright?!" Tooth asked, tears burning his violet eyes.

Sandy shrugged though his expression was serious. He glanced at the bruise on Jack's neck; for some reason, it seemed darker now. Jack himself was fast asleep; in fact, he looked more peaceful than ever - minus Tooth's medicine escapade, of course.

"What is happening?!" North shouted from the ground below.

Sandy didn't respond, _couldn't _respond, so Tooth answered for him. "I don't know!" she shouted back, voice cracking. "Jack, he fell asleep again and... and I thought that the medicine...!"

Sandy gently smiled at the frantic Tooth, momentarily calming her, before turned his attention back to Jack. The winter spirit was fast asleep, white hair partly covering his eyes, sapphire eyes flicking back and forth from underneath his pale eyelids.

The Sandman scowled, began weaving his golden sand in the air. He had only a slim chance of stopping whatever was attacking Jack's memories, just the smallest window of opportunity that he could slip by.

Last time the war for Jack's memories ended in a tie; _this time _Sandy planned to win.

* * *

Pitch inched forward on his stone seat, yellow eyes gleaming all the while. Blank sand in strands so thin they seemed to be invisible but, right now, this was the best that the Nightmare King could do. But he was getting stronger; he could feel it deep in his core that the spider bite on Jack was finally beginning to work.

Suddenly he felt it; the blasted Sandman was interfering again.

Pitch snarled but then an idea hit him; who said that he could only manipulate one memory at once? Why not manipulate _many_ memories, twist them around. Why not twist them _all _around; Pitch was too weak to do it neatly, but then again Pitch Black was never tidy to begin with.

The black tendrils of sand thinned even further as he made more, but it was worth it. Images flashed through Pitch's head...

* * *

_Jack screamed in horror as the sword that killed North was in his hands, driving into the big man and, eventually, killing him. Suddenly the image changed; Sandman was in the sky fighting his last battle, but Jack could only watch as North handed Tooth his sword and Tooth killed Sandy with a soft, twisted smile. The image changed again in a nauseating blur; Jack watched helplessly as his sister fell into the lake. He was too late, too late, and all he could do was stare through the hole in the ice and watch her small pale hand fade away into the icy blue... the tears were falling now, all the emotions locked in his fragile aching chest and it was all he could do but to curl up and hold it all in. He wasn't worth it, just not worth it, he had to die too..._

_ A second splash was heard in the forest of frozen snow._

* * *

Pitch laughed as memory after memory was ruined. Sure, Sandy saved a couple, but which ones? Childhood memories? Memories that defined Jack? _After all, _Pitch sneered, _how could one tell which memories make up the heart of a person?_

He laughed, feeling stronger than ever as he felt Jack's _fear _fill him up like water falling into a cup. But it wasn't just fear; hatred, pain, agony, loathing, terror, devastation, helplessness, the feeling that everyone was crumbling in front of you and it was all you could do to hold the fragments together. But then it all fails anyway; the cards had fallen, the landslide had begun, and anything in its way would be run over...

Pitch through his head back and simply laughed.

* * *

Sandy frantically turned to memory after memory, shifting through them as fast as possible. He saw one of one of Jack's childhood pranks, then something _changed _and it went horrible wrong. A house flew up in flames, a child screams could be heard from the inside...

As fast as Sandy could he copied and changed the memory, making it how the original was, then went back and erased the old. The old, corrupted memory always had to be thrown away so that there were no copies, that Jack wouldn't become confused and cracked like the last time.

Sandy sifted through the memories again, struggling to find the bad. But how could he tell? He wasn't there when Jack was alive, didn't walk through the years hand-in-hand with the boy.

But Sandy gritted his teeth and struggled.

Simply struggled.

* * *

_The images were a blur, changing at a constant rate. Jake was swimming in the local lake, but then something went wrong and his friends started to drown. Now he was in Santoff Clausen; the other Guardians kicked him outside, laughing in Jack's face about how worthless he was. The embarrassment, the frustration, the resentment burned inside of him and he headed back home..._

_ Now he was talking to Pitch, shouting at him, threatening to destroy him on the glacier in the South Pole. But suddenly the yelling stopped, and in Pitch's gray hand was Baby Tooth... Pitch handed her to Jack, to him to protect her, told him that they had to fight against the Guardians since power always corrupted and the Guardians had been in power too long. Jack wanted to say no, mentally screamed at first, but it slowly began to make sense and Jack agreed..._

_ Suddenly the image changed. He was at his and his sister's grave site. Pippa's grave stone was old and gray, but Jack made it beautiful by decorating it with lacy frost sculptures... one was a flower frozen forever in ice, another were a pair of ice skates he made from the frost, another was a small snowman he remembered making with her three hundred years ago. But suddenly his neck hurt and Bunnymund was there, staring down at him with vivid green eyes. The Easter Bunny was saying that Jack's gifts were pointless; Pippa was dead and wouldn't see Jack ever again anyway, and then in a fluid motion cracked the tomb stone in half..._

_ At that moment, something inside Jack cracked and crumbled away, and the emotions that he trying to hold in, the emotions that hurt him so bad, simply got free. _

_ ...There was nothing he could do._

* * *

Pitch smiled to the sky hidden behind the stone ceiling as Jack, thousands of miles away, opened his hauntingly blue eyes.

Pitch Black, for the first time, had won.

* * *

_Okay. This chapter kinda broke my heart- when I was writing it, I wondered whether to leave some of these scenes in and thought to myself, yeah I should. BUT. This story will have a happy ending for sure, I pinky promise! (and from all of you who continued on from Humanity -you're awesome by the way - you know that I kept my promise! :D ) _

_ That said, this story will be longer than Humanity. I'm thinking roughly twenty chapters...? Super rough estimate though; it could easily be thirty or as low as eighteen. _

_ Anyway! In this story's group on DA (Humanity-Eternity for those of you that don't know) a LOT of amazing people has made amazing fanart and coverart! :D Seriously, check it out if you have time - their art is so so so so good! Ahhh I love you guys!_

_ Until next time,_

_ Rand0mSmil3z_

_ PS - Christmas Break is in two days (thank goodness) so I'll have more time to write then. And you know what that means? :D Double-Upload Days, just like before in Humanity! :D Look forward to that, and thank you all for the support!_

_PPS - one of my friends had made a deviantart group for her fanfic! It's called Ice-Princess-Luna ; there's a link of my group for it! :D Please check it out, her story is really good!_


	14. Chapter 14

_Everyone! I got accepted to another college! :D :D :D :D This one is a tad bit closer to home than what I'd like, but that doesn't matter! It's actually a very respectable college of roughly 40,000 people, give or take 10,000. That's ridiculous! That's huge! Omigoodness! That's more people than I've met in my entire life! ANYWAY. What this means for you is an extra-long chapter! Why?! Because I'm celebrating that's why! :D All of those hours of no life-ing in my room studying is finally paying off! xD_

_ Omygoodness I'm so thrilled._

_ :D_

_ Anyway, this chapter is dedicated to all of you that drew me fan art and cover art! You're all so amazing and all of it is just so incredibly wonderful! To all of you who would like to see Humanity and Eternity art, go to the group (Humanity-Eternity) and check it all out there! :D If I could post all of the art here I could!_

_ Well then! Here is chapter 14! Enjoy! :D_

* * *

Jack Frost's silver eyes slowly opened. The first thing he saw was white, but as his vision cleared he saw the world in a different perspective. Toothiana was staring at him with a strange expression boarding worry and relief.

"Too-" Jack began, but the images began to flood him. First she killed Sandy with North's sword, then she whispered, _"Sorry," _and abandoned Jack when he needed her the most. Suddenly she was whispered to him, whispering that she destroyed his memory box of baby teeth, but it was only thanks to Pitch Black that he was able to get them back...

"Jack?" Toothiana's voice snapped him back to the present. She was _looking _at him, her violet eyes wide and inquisitive, and hand moving forward to Jack's cheek. "Jack," she continued, eyes full of tears, "what's wrong? Are you all-"

"_Get away from me!" _Jack slapped her hand away; that hand was the same one that killed North, stained in blood and lies. To his surprise, Toothiana jerked her hand away with a face filled with hurt. Something inside of him screamed in pain at the sight of _her _pain, but the other half of him didn't care. He was barely aware of his neck throbbing in agony and was _only _aware of the memories that flashed before his eyes like a slideshow-

_Bunnymund breaking Pippa's grave, North laughing and telling him that how could he, Jack, be a Guardians, Tooth refusing to help him when he needed it the most, of Sandy seeing the boy for the first time then turned away, ignoring the winter spirit that had been ignored for so long, too long..._

"_Get away from me!" _Jack screamed again. But no one would listen, no one cared.

_They never cared, _said a voice in his head. For some reason Jack knew this voice; it was the same voice he heard so long ago, back when he was first born from the lake as Jack Frost. Not Man in the Moon, of course, but Pitch Black.

His first friend.

North suddenly lunged for the winter spirit. Jack flinched, slammed the butt of his staff on the ground. Ice crawled on the floor and up the walls as a startling speed; in mere seconds the air chilled to below zero. Everyone else felt the effects of the cold, but not Jack. Never Jack. No one but him had ever felt the warmth in the snow. No one but Jack Frost.

_That's the way it has always been, _whispered Pitch. His voice bounced around Jack's skull like screams in a cave; each word hurt, hurt like a thousand daggers, but Jack didn't mind. He had always been alone, ridiculed constantly, and the Guardian's were never there for him.

Suddenly an image flashed before his eyes, and Jack cringed from the sudden pain.

_There was a gravesite; one was grave stone, another was his sister's. Small gifts lay around them; two frozen roses, two small flowers of spring, two green feathers, two jingle bells. Above the grave stones was a dream of golden sand, of a girl and a boy ice skating on a frozen lake..._

_ Jack was crying._

_ "We know... but, you still have a family," whispered a voice next to him. It was so soft, so gentle, so understanding, so _caring_ that it nearly broke his heart._

_ "That's right," whispered another voice. It was a bit deeper but just as kind. "You have us."_

Suddenly the memory shattered in his mind like glass; as the pieces fell apart and broke, something inside of him did too.

There was nothing left.

_Not true, _whispered Pitch. _You have me._

"Jack!" shouted North. But the voice was no longer familiar, no longer kind and caring. Jack turned his icy blue eyes to the big man, eyes colder than the frost he was famous for.

_"Don't come near me," _whispered Jack. North's eyes widened briefly before he was frozen solid in ice. That same ice froze _everything; _the ground, the columns, the yetis and elves nearby. Even Toothiana, still hovering in the air, wasn't free from the icy cold that froze Santoff Clausen. Instead the ice gracefully spiraled around her, jutting out from the ground like a mouth swallowing her whole.

She turned to Jack, violet eyes wide and scared, and whispered, _"Jack" _moments before she and Baby Tooth were frozen completely.

A single tear ran down Jack's cheek, froze there, but he brushed it away. _Why am I crying? _he wondered, staring at the frozen droplet of water on his sleeve. His neck hurt. He raised his gaze to the Guardians, frozen in North's office. _I have nothing to be sad about; now they won't hurt me ever again. _

Inside his head, Pitch Black seemed to smile. _Good work, old friend. _

Warmth bubbled inside of Jack. _Friend, _he repeated, then turned around to walk out of the office.

Then paused.

Then turned back around.

The Easter Bunny, freshly emerged out of his rabbit whole, was staring at Jack with wide green eyes.

* * *

"Jack," Bunnymund said, gaping at the frozen North, Tooth, and Sandy. "What happened here? It looks like you..."

Just like that, it all clicked together.

Bunnymund jumped away from Jack, hand already reaching for his boomerang. "You... what have you done?" he shouted. "And what's that mark on your neck?"

...

Jack winced as the memories flooded him. He groaned and reached for his head that threatened to split apart.

_Bunnymund trying to kill him after he messed up Easter, Bunnymund breaking Pippa's tomb stone in half. Then Bunnymund was laughing at him when Jack first came._

_ But then there was another memory of a kinder Easter Bunny, the Easter Bunny that played with Sophie, Jamie's little sister, and teased him about how Jack's hair was white, like an old mans..._

Jack's head was splitting in two, a wedge trying to crack it right in half. He couldn't tell what was real, couldn't see anything but the images warring before him. Bunnymund was running to Jack, but suddenly a shield of ice separated them. Everything didn't make sense... it was all so confusing and it hurt, it hurt so bad...

_Don't worry, _said Pitch. Suddenly the chaos in his mind was cleared away like sand being swept away on a gentle ocean wave. A cold, an icy cold, consumed Jack's very core. Pitch continued; _I won't let anything hurt you again. _

Jack took a deep breath and let his hands fall away from his head. When he opened his mind everything was crystal clear again; nothing hurt, not even his neck.

Jack flicked his blue eyes to Bunnymund, who was watching with a strange expression. Without a word the wind, reinforced with small blades of ice, kicked up around the Easter Bunny. He didn't have time to scream before the ice froze over like a cocoon, encasing the unsuspecting Pooka in the essence of winter.

Another tear ran down Jack's face; he quickly brushed it off.

_Well done, _whispered Pitch Black. Jack's neck briefly flared in pain before it suddenly disappeared. _Do you know where I am?_

Jack thought about it for a moment before replying, "Yes." He did remember; Toothiana said that she destroyed his memories, and then when he went to Pitch's layer the boogeyman gave him his baby teeth. The memory was foggy, some of the images warped and disjointed, but it was there.

Pitch smiled. _The come, old friend. _Jack smiled. _We have a lot of work to do. _

Jack glanced out the open window, smashed the glass open. The harsh winter air of the north pole roared into the office, chilling it even further.

"...I'm coming."

Jack Frost disappeared into the cold winter's night.

* * *

Bunnymund was only aware of the dark and the bitter cold that accompanied it before he could feel the world slowly getting brighter. It was small at first, just a flare in the distance. At first the Easter Bunny thought that it was the type of light you see before you die.

But when he sucked in that air, that sweet and delicious air, did he realize that he was truly alive.

"Bunnymund!" Tooth shouted, wrapping her arms around the Pooka's neck. "A-are you all right?"

"What?" Bunnymund mumbled, looking around blankly. "How did I...?"

"Unfreeze?" Tooth finished with a small forced smile. She turned to gesture to the yetis. They were holding hairdryers and were currently unfreezing Sandy; in fact, they were almost done. "Anyway," Tooth added, "how are you feeling?"

Bunnymund blinked. "Er... I'm fine mate, but..." Suddenly his eyes snapped wide open. _"Frostbite! _He was there, he _froze _me that darn...!"

"He froze us too," North whispered, eyes locked in the distance.

"Why?" Bunnymund demanded. "It's like... _Gah! _I'm gone for two months and the next thing I know, you all are all popsicles and Frostbite is out wandering who-knows-where!"

Tooth turned her head away, eyes gathering up in her violet eyes.

Bunnymund instantly regretted his words. "Well, I'm saying you guys are _bad _or anything, I just mean that... well, what happened?" Sandy turned away. "North?" Bunnymund asked. "What happened?"

"Jack, he... hasn't been himself," North admitted finally.

"And why didn't anyone tell me?!"

Tooth interrupted this time. "Because it wasn't much... he just had trouble sleeping," she sniffed. "I never thought that... he'd _attack _us, I'd...!" She turned away again trying not to cry.

Bunnymund scowled. "Before I... well, before Frostbite froze me I saw something on his neck, as if someone spilt a bottle of blank ink there. What was that?"

"It was only a small bruise," North explained.

Bunnymund narrowed his eyes. "I've seen bruises, mate. That was no bruise. That looked something like Pitch would do."

"But... Pitch doesn't have any power anymore," Tooth protested, wiping her eyes. "Jack defeated him-"

"And Pitch defeated Sandy," Bunnymund interrupted, "but Sandy isn't powerless, now is he?" Sandy smiled briefly.

North scowled. "Then... we go to Pitch's layer," he said slowly.

Bunnymund nodded. "That's exactly what we're gonna do."

* * *

_Wooohoooo Christmas break! :D I'm going to see the Hobbit this weekend for sure; it's going to be amazing. I can feel it... in my belly. :D_

_ Anyway! On DA, I thought of something pretty ambitious but what I think would be really cool; what if each chapter I upload there has its own cover-art thing going? Of course, I can't so this alone (as most of you know, I can't draw to save my life) but there is one thing I can do! To everyone that makes me any sort of art for these two stories of mine (Humanity-Eternity), request an RotG story (if you want to, of course :D) and I'll write it and add it to the group of DA! :D _

_ That said, any requests fly! :D Send me a PM (here or DA) and we'll see what happens!_

_ By the way, to everyone who replied - thank you so much! Ahhh I love you all, I couldn't ask for a nicer group of readers! :D Like honestly, writing this story has been made so awesome thanks to you guys. :D_

_ And that it. :D Hope this chapter was good; I just got out of my writer's block and now writing feels kinda weird but sooo much less painful. That said, if you confused in the first couple of pages (well, pages me... basically, the whole Jack scene) don't worry; it was supposed to be kinda confusing. One does not simply recover from having memories scrambled! :D _

_ But tomorrow is Friday! That means A) end of the school week (yesss!) and B) it'll be 12-21-12! Mayan calendar has ended that day and the world is 'supposedly' supposed to end! Dudes; on 12-22-12 we should all say that the appacolypse actually happened, have our war stories, but say that whoever denies that the end of the world happened had their minds wiped by the aliens._

_ YES._

_ Anyway, stay safe tomorrow! :D _

_ Until next time,_

_ Rand0mSmil3z_


	15. Chapter 15

_Guess we're going to survive this apocalypse! :D To all of you survivors out there, well done. It was a long battle - thought that we wouldn't make it there for a moment - but everyone's hard work, big guns and bigger booms defeated the aliens, wiped out the zombies, and saved the world from the flaming asteroids. To you all I say: Well done. _

_ hahaha xD_

_ Anyway! Reply time!_

_ Sadie Aurora Night: xD hahaha we would be the coolest grandparents around with stories about how we defeated the aliens and zombies and stuff. "Oh yeah sonny- I know dem AK-47's and Rocket Launchers. Aimed what a zombie once... didn't know heads flew that far." Kids: " O_O omg grandma you're hardcore." xD _

_ nimbi-piru: WELL DONE. WAY TO SHOW THAT ZOMBIE IT'S RIGHTFUL PLACE IN THE DIRT. xD xD hahaha happy juice for the win!_

_ duaghterofthehunt: :'D awww thank you!_

_ Green (Guest): :D Thank you to you as well - that was a really sweet thing to say! And of course I'm appresiative towards my readers - you guys are the ones that are making writing this so worthwhile xD seriously, if it wasn't for you guys, I would have stopped back in Humanity o_O Look at how far it's come...!_

_ Okay, that's it for today! I'm gonna leave PLENTY of room for the actual chapter; hope you enjoy it, because it's a long one! _

_ Chapter 15 - to the celebration of all of the hard-core survivors out there. Stay Awesome. _

* * *

The air was cold, laced with frost and the thin tendrils of ice that locked the air in its deadly grip. Stars shimmered over head with the moon in the center of midnight, illuminating the world with its pale silver. It was strange; it was almost like the moon was crying this bitter night.

Jack ran.

He had a destination in mind, knew exactly where he was going. But everyone was so blurred; one image showed him chasing Jack through the endless twisted corridors of Pitch's layer, meaning to kill him, but then another showed him walking beside Pitch with a smile.

They were friends.

Jack's head flared with pain and he stumbled over the snow. Trees surrounded him, their branches reaching out into the pale night as if to grab him where he stood. Crisp pine needles, laced with a thin layer of ice, cut his pale cheeks as he ran. He didn't slow, _couldn't _slow. He had to get to Pitch's layer before the Guardians came.

Jack's stomach hurt.

He wasn't sure why; he knew that he didn't get hit there. But at the same time his stomach squirmed inside of him, twisting painfully every time he remembered what he had done. How he froze the Guardians, how he left them for dead...

Jack stopped suddenly, eyes and throat burning, and threw up into the snow. He wiped his mouth, shuddering all the while.

_What's wrong with me?_

Jack raised his head towards the pale sky. Man in the Moon... he _abandoned _Jack, abandoned him like everyone else. Where was Manny when Jack needed him most, where was his encouragement and duck tape when Jack was falling apart?

MiM wasn't here now and would probably never be here.

Ever.

Jack turned away from the night sky, eyes burning, and continued to run.

The memories in his head haunted him, chased him like holy men chasing a demon. Jack's breath caught cruelly in his throat, snagging on ever single breath he took. His stomach twisted around, filling him with such a bitter dread he couldn't hide from. It was strange; he felt like he had just done something wrong, terrible terrible wrong and irrevocable.

The images flashed in his mind like a broken slideshow; blood, holding someone's, betrayal, comfort, joy and anger. All flooding him at once, each screaming, _demanding, _his attention. But Jack couldn't give it to them, but he couldn't push them away.

Hopeless - Jack felt hopeless. He needed a friend.

Jack took a deep breath to calm himself, to make the broken memories go away.

He needed Pitch.

* * *

Bunnymund scowled at the world so far below him, then shivered and quick looking down. North's sleigh was jostled slightly by the frigid winter air, and every bump sent Bunnymund in a dither. He swallowed and wished for about the thousandth time that there were seatbelts.

"Are we there yet?" Tooth asked. Bunnymund cast her a wry glance; she seemed so _comfortable _in the air; perfectly calm, relaxed... well, somewhat relaxed. Though, she did look worried - Bunnymund figured that it was for the same reason they were all worried.

_Jack._

North glanced over his shoulder. "Close," he stated, then turned back to the open air in front of him... minus the reindeer, of course. "Pitch is by Burgess."

"That's close to Jack," Bunnymund muttered, then added in a louder voice, "You thing that's coincidence?"

Sandy's eyes were dazed, locked onto a point on the horizon. Then he simply turned to Bunnymund and shrugged, question mark popping over his head at the same time.

"Fantastic," Bunnymund scowled, then turned away to sharpen his boomerang. Well, to do anything but to look down, really. He preferred his feet firm on the ground, where the grass grew and the earth was warm. He preferred the light of the sun that weaved through the trees, not the crisp open air that stung your eyes.

He shivered and scooted closer to the center of the sleigh. _The Easter Bunny falls out of flying sleigh, Easter canceled because I broke my noggin. Yeah, _he figured, _that's not great way to go. _

Suddenly the sleigh slowered, momentarily pushing Bunnymund forward thanks to his momentum. "Woooaaaaah," he scowled, bracing himself against the seat in front of him, "Why're we stoppin'?!"

"We're here," North stated simply.

Tooth and Sandy got out of the sleigh without a word, and Bunnymund hoped out soon after. His long feet plodded in the soft snow, and the Easter Bunny shivered despite himself.

He hated the cold.

Suddenly Tooth gasped. "Oh... oh, oh no..." she whispered.

Bunnymund snapped his head up, prepared for anything. But nothing could have prepared him for _this..._

* * *

"You came."

Pitch's voice bounced around his layer of twisted stone corridors and disjointed stairs. Jack walked out of the shadows, but some seemed to cling to him. They dark tendrils trailed over his pale cheeks crept down his neck and collarbone, darkening the bruise already there.

A single spider dropped down from the ceiling, its long black thread trailing behind as it lightly landed in Jack's silver hair. But the winter spirit didn't seem to notice and, if he did, he simply didn't care.

"Of course," he whispered. His mind... his mind was so blissfully _quiet _now, like all of the screaming images and broken memories just disappeared entirely. He had forgotten the meaning of peace, and now that he had it back in his grasp he would do anything to keep it.

_Anything. _

Pitch stood up from his stone throne; he was gaunter than usual, face grayer than usual, but he felt strong. He felt stronger than he had felt in a very, very long time. "Welcome back home," he said, arms outstretched as if for a hug. With a twisted smile he added, "Jack."

Jack smiled. _Home. _He didn't have a home; once he had a lake but then North destory...

Suddenly his head flared in pain but, just as quickly as it had come, it was gone. Vanish, leaving behind only that peaceful emptiness he craved for so long.

A pause, then, "It's good to be back, Pitch. But," he added with a smirk, "you look awful."

For a second Pitch's featured contorted into pure rage, but then it was gone. Just like that. "Yes, well," Pitch sneered, "things happen. Anyway," he added, turning around, "come with me. I have to show you something."

Jack took a step forward to follow, but then something cringed and screamed inside of him. It felt like a wild animal inside his chest struggling to break free, but it was more than just a simple fight; no this was something different. Something that threatened to rip him apart.

But Jack pushed it away and kept on walking; he was just being paranoid. So he took another step, then another and another, before his footsteps fell in line with the hard echoes of Pitch's steps. Yet that horrible feeling inside of him didn't go away; in fact, all Jack wanted to do was run away. But why? Why did he want to run away from Pitch? Pitch was his first friend, the only one in the entire _world _that would talk to him.

So why did Jack want to run away?

_I'm just being paranoid._

* * *

Bunnymund gasped.

The once soft snow was frozen over, changed into someting feral and positively lethal. Spikes of crystal clear ice stuck out from tree trunks and the white ground like needles, like a horrible spiked cocoon that pierced the one unlucky enough to be inside of it. It was a dreadful thing, but there was something desperate about it too.

"This is Jack's work," Bunnymund stated, breaking the tip off one of the glassy spikes of ice. "I'm sure of it."

"Was... was he being attacked?" Tooth asked, lower lip trembling at the thought of something bad happening to Jack.

Bunnymund shook his head. "No."

"How can you tell?" North asked, puzzled.

"Because look around you," Bunnymund said. "There are only one set of prints - Jack's. And it looks like he was running."

"But why cause all of... _this?" _asked North, gesturing around him.

Bunnymund scowled. "It almost looks like... the ice was trying to _stop _Jack or something. Which means," he added with a grin, "the real Jack must be somewhere fighting on the inside."

"You might be right," North said, lightly nodded.

"But... but how can you tell from just ice?" Tooth begged. "What if he's hurt, and something did attack him, and-!"

"Because I can feel it," North interrupted, then added with a soft grin, "in my belly." Sandy smiled; Bunnymund rolled his eyes.

"Come'on mates," the Easter Bunny said, "let's get going."

Tooth nodded, face full of determination. "Right," she stated. North and Sandy nodded, and before long they were dashing through the forest. The branches seemed to reach out from the darkness, trying to suck him up, but the Guardians kept moving. Before long they came to a wooden bed; it was creaky and old, about to fall over even, and underneath was a long black hole. Without hesitation they all jumped down.

The ground rushed to meet them, and darkness swallowed them up.

* * *

Pitch led Jack to the globe room. Jack had the vague sense of being here before, but couldn't remember from when. In the center of the room was a massive globe; it was made from cold metal, hollow on the inside with the oceans missing entirely. Light flickered on the surface like stars.

Suddenly he had a flashback; he was standing here - it felt like a lifetime ago - and he was watching the pinpricks of light on the hard globe. But there was only one left and the sheer desperation to find that child that clung to belief was strong, so strong that it almost ate him up.

Without warning Jack's neck stung, and he recalled of different memory; he was standing in front of a different globe, the one in Santoff Clausen. He and Bunnymund were standing underneath it, but Bunnymund turned to him and said that none of those lights believe in Jack Frost, not a single one.

Jack's grip tightened on his staff. Children _did _believe in him... in fact, there was this one kid in Burgess named...

A face flashed before him for an instant; brown eyes, brown hair, brilliant smile.

_Named..._

Jack scowled. _I can't... remember? _

"Jack." Pitch's voice snapped him back to reality. "Where are the Guardians now?"

"Frozen in Santoff Clausen," Jack replied easily. But suddenly something inside of him twisted around like a dagger in his stomach, twisting ever so slowly in the most painful way.

Pitch smiled, and suddenly Jack's mind was blank again. His neck hurt a little, but it seemed muffled somehow. However, Jack wasn't complaining anytime soon. He was sick of the constant pain.

"Well Jack," Pitch said, leaning in close to whisper into Jack's ear. "Do you want to finish them off? Make them realize how hurt you were, how _alone _you were, how _desperate _for a friend you were...?"

Jack swallowed. Something inside of him cried out _no, _that he didn't want to, but something else screamed yes. Yes so that they all learned, yes so that they all understood how it felt to be truly alone for three hundred years. To be so alone that it gnawed on your insides, so alone and desperate for a touch, a glance that it hurt?

Did anyone know how that felt?

"Okay," Jack whispered. Something inside of him screamed in pain. "I'll do it."

Pitch smiled; for a second Jack was scared of that smile, another second and he wasn't. "That's good," Pitch whispered. Jack turned away.

The spider dropped off of Jack's hair to the floor, then scuttled away. The shadows of the room seemed to darken, the hallways deepen and the staircases more ominous.

Pitch left the room, leaving Jack to stare at the globe of lights. Jack's fist tightened around his staff; how he hurt inside. He was positive that he didn't get hurt in the stomach earlier; he checked, and there was no wound. Not even a bruise. _But maybe Pitch can help me, _Jack thought.

_After all, we're friends._

* * *

Extra-long chapter for all of your survivors out there! By the way, on the group in deviantart (Humanity-Eternity) a really good friend of mine (known as Ytwolfpup there) has begun to make a comic for this story! It's still in the works, but you can see a start-up sketch there! It's soooo so so so cool you guys! Please check it out! :D

And, continuing that thought, thank you so much everyone for the support. I mean it; I can't believe how popular this has all become. I don't think I'll ever get used to it- I mean, to make a DA group for it? To get fan/cover art? To get a flippin' _comic?! _You guys are spoiling me D': I'll try to make this story as epic, mind-blowing and awesome as possible to earn all of it! Thank you!

Until Next Time (unless the world dies in the next hour and ten minutes),

Rand0mSmil3z

PS- are my chapters too long? I've noticed that one of my chapters is roughtly equal to three chapters of a lot of other fanfics, and I'm not immune to feeling a tad self-conscious about it o_o" Sooo... is this length okay? or should I shorten it?


	16. Chapter 16

_Omigoodness - I reread the last chapter, to remember where in the blazes I left off, and there were a lot of typos. o_o I mean, it's not that it's spelt wrong or anything, I just skip words. Gah. I'll try to stop doing that, and one day I'll go back and fix all of that._

_ BUT until then, I'll keep on writing these chapters :D _

_ By the way everyone, thanks so much for answering my question! Since the call was unanimous, the chapter length will be staying as-is. That means roughly 2000 words / 6 pages per chapter. :D _

_ Here is chapter 16 everyone - thank you for the support! This chapter is dedicated to all of the apocalypse survivors out there - you are all hard core xD Enjoy!_

* * *

Bunnymund wrinkled his nose at the stale air. "Blech," he scowled, kicking at a spider web. "Pitch Black _lives _here?"

North was also frowning. "It appears so," he said simply.

It was true; Pitch's layer was in a state of complete disrepair. The stone walls, when you looked closely, were crumbling and laced with thin cracks. Spider webs hung from the ceiling; Tooth shuddered every time she accidently brushed against a particularly low one. Random staircases jutted out of random areas; some fell sideway, others were upside-down and some even stopped half-way. Hallways were placed at odd angles and different inclines, making Pitch's layer a maze of stone.

To Bunnymund, it felt like a tomb. He loved having his feet one solid ground and all, but he also liked seeing the clouds above. He liked seeing the sun in the morning and the sunsets at night, to see the stars and the moon light up the dark sky like spotlights on a stage. There the shadows were natural; they disappeared when the sun came up, allowed the children to hide there when they played hide-and-go seek. Those shadows were harmless.

These shadows however; the ones that lined the halls, crept down the walls like a disease, were lethal. Almost as if he stepped on one of the dark splotches he would get eaten up.

Suddenly Sandy tugged on Bunnymund's shoulder. "What is it mate?" the Pooka asked softly, and in response Sandy pointed to the ground, right at the frozen footprints that were just beginning to melt away. Bunnymund clasped Sandy's shoulder. "Nice one," he said. Sandy smiled in response, looking as determined as ever.

"Jack's been here?" Tooth asked, though her voice made it seem like she was scared to know the answer.

North nodded solemnly. "He has," he said, then turned his gaze down the hall. He added, "Follow me," and began to walk. The Guardians walked behind the big Russian prepared for anything. North had his twin swords out, golden whips of sand weaved around Sandy and Bunnymund had his boomerang out, ready for action. Tooth didn't need anything much; in her hand was a thin sword, almost like a needle, but she could always use her razor-sharp wings.

_Tooth, _Bunnymund realized with a thin smile, _is a living breathing walking arsenal._ Which, given the situation, was perfect.

Suddenly North stopped. "Shh," he ordered, then crept forward all the slower. Bunnymund swallowed and followed right behind the big man, ready for anything.

"That's pointless, you know."

Pitch's voice echoed off the hallways, down the broken staircases. Shivers crept up and down Bunnymund's spine and he jumped out from behind North, prepared to knock some heads together.

He wasn't prepared for this.

Pitch slowly stood up from his stone throne, almost painfully rose to his full height. "Welcome to my home," he said, voice dripping with sarcasm. Bunnymund was shocked; Pitch looked so frail, so gaunt and thin. His yellow eyes were dimmed slightly, his flat gray face more pale.

Bunnymund had to admit, Pitch almost looked scarier this way than before.

"We've come for Jack," Bunnymund nearly growled. "Where is he, or do I have to destroy the whole lotta'ya."

"Jack?" Pitch sneered. "Jack came to me from his own free will; you won't deny the boy his free will, would you?"

"You manipulated him!" Tooth replied. She hovered next to Bunnymund looking absolutely furious. "You- you hurt him, you...!"

"Where is your proof?" Pitch asked, cutting off Toothiana. "As you can see," he added snarkily, "I can do little in my current state."

When Tooth faltered, North answered for her. "The bruise on his neck," he stated. "I thought it was just an ordinary bruise but that's not the case, is it Pitch?"

Pitch's expression darkened.

"So," Bunnymund said, taking another step forward. His footsteps echoed in the room like a thousand wailing voices that slowly faded into the emptiness of silence. He continued, "Where is Jack?"

"Right here."

The answer came so suddenly that Bunnymund nearly jumped.

"Frostbite!" he shouted, turning around the room. "Where are you? We've come to help-!"

Suddenly Jack casually dropped out of the air to stand in front of him. Bunnymund saw his neck and inwardly winced; it was darker and deeper now, and even bigger than before. The black bruise laced up the winter sprits pale skin, up his left cheek before stopping just below his eye. The rest disappeared underneath Jack's blue hoodie, the one he always wore.

"You've never helped me," Jack stated bitterly. Ice wove around his staff, chilling the air around him. "Never helped me, always saying stuff like 'you're not fit to be a Guardian' or 'no one knows you anyway, so why do you even exist?"

_What?! _"I've never said that!" Bunnymund protested, then added in a softer voice, "Well, the first part I did in the beginning, but not anymore!" he nearly shouted. "Remember?! You defeated Pitch, and then we all went back to Santoff Clausen and celebra-"

_"Shut up!" _Jack screamed. His face was twisted into a look of pain, and one of his hands was squeezing his head as if to hold it together. "Don't lie to me, I _know _what happened! Pitch _helped _me! He helped me find my memories-" Tooth's eyes widened, "-and to find my core-" North glanced at Pitch with an odd expression, "-and so much more!" Jack shouted. "And what have you done for me? _Nothing."_

Bunnymund scowled -that was going over the top. "Now listen here, Frostbite," he nearly growled. "I don't know what Pitch did to you but we're _friends, _yah understand that? _Friends."_

"That's not true, I-"

"Remember when we found your and Pippa's grave?" Bunnymund asked, cutting Jack off. And, to his satisfaction, the winter spirit's eyes widened and his breath hitched in his throat. "Remember that? We left gifts and swore that day that we would always have each other's back, that we would always be _family-"_

Suddenly Jack's staff dropped to the ground in a clatter. "Th-that's not...!" he stammered, holding his head with both of his hands. His blue eyes were wide, locked blankly with some point in the distance. "I- I _remember, _I...!"

Without warning Pitch appeared out of Jack's shadow and placed a firm hand on the winter spirit's shoulder. "Of course you remember," he said in such a sickeningly sweet voice that it made Bunnymund feel nauseous. But to his surprise Jack's hands fell limply to his side, his sapphire eyes out of focus and so empty, so calm, so _blank. _

"Of course I remember," Jack repeated in almost a hollow voice. Slowly, ever so slowly, Jack's gaze lowered to meet Bunnymund's. "You... you broke Pippa's grave." Ice gathered around the winter spirit's pale hands, laced around his sleeves and dropping the temperature a god ten degrees. "You broke it, you _broke it...!"_

Bunnymund's eyes widened. _Oh criminy. _The Pooka barely had time to react before a dagger, made entirely out of ice, whizzed past his face and shattered on the stone wall behind him.

* * *

_Gah I feel evil. Sorry that this chapter is shorter, but I wanted to stop before I got into the fight scene. Yes people, massive fight scene after this one. Jack Frost versus the __world__ Guardians. (Sorry. Scott Pilgrim moment right there hahaha)_

_ But anyway! :D Here is the link to the comic that people have been asking about: _

_h*t*t*p : /*/ __humanity-eternity*.*deviantart*.*com*/_

_ (smoosh all of that together that it should work :D )_

_EDIT: take out the * and the () around the . and THEN it shoulder work... =_= dumb links. _

_EDIT2: well. the link still didn't work so I'm trying only * things, since that worked best with the beginning part of the link. If it still doesn't work, PM me and I'll send you the link. Or you can go to deviant art (the website) and either look up Rand0mSmil3z or Humanity-Eternity ; both would work. =_= sorry people_

_ Anyway, since I'll have company tonight (plus my little cousins) I probably won't have time to write the fight scene today. BUT I will try to get it out ASAP! :D _

_ SO, until next time,_

_ Rand0mSmil3z_

_ :D_


	17. Chapter 17

_Wheeeew. Peace and quiet has returned to the house. :) But I had a lot of fun! My little cousins and I played a lot of games, ate a lot (_**A LOT**_) of food, and then opened all of the presents that they brought over for us and they opened the ones we got for them. It was pretty awesome; I got a new pair of gloves (it's cold in the morning even though we live by the big blue sea :( Or maybe I'm just a wimp and 42*F isn't cold at all to some people) haha :D_

_ ANYWAY. In four days I'll be leaving on a vacation for the north, to the snowy mountains and frozen lakes. You know what that means? JACK FROST HUNTING. }:D YESSSSSSSS...!_

_ NinjaStar777: D': Omygoodness, you just wrote the sweetest things one right after the other and you have no idea how much that means to me. Honestly, each one was so amazingly awesome. Like, you noted some things I didn't even notice in my writing, but then again noticed the finer details that went unnoticed. You're awesome. :D Thank you so so so much - I'm so glad that you like this story and I hope I'll earn some of your amazing reviews! :'D I mean, for some I have to go back in my story and reread because I didn't even notice that part (even though I wrote it haha) and I never realized that my writing style is poetic-ish o_O So that's kinda cool to find out xD Thank you! A thousand thousand THOUSAND thank you's in your general direction! :D :D :D :D :Dw_

_ Allison: Thank you for your British claps! xD xD xD That made me laugh so hard!_

_ Guest: Omygoodness I'm honored :D And a very merry Christmas right back atcha!_

_ MysteriousSherlock: D: Nooooo not the puppy dog eyes...!_

_ Snowflake Kisses: Awesome name by the way xD And yes, this chapter is going to be ONE HUGE FIGHT SCENE. _

_ That said... I'm not very good at fight scenes T_T But I'll try my hardest, so... LET THE CARNAGE COMMENSE. Here is chapter 17 of Eternity! :D Enjoy!_

* * *

Even the stone walls seemed to cry out in pain.

Jack didn't know _what _to feel. He had picked up his staff at one point, conjured a dagger made from ice and threw it at Bunnymund's head. But he had known, from the moment he let the dagger soar, that his aim was off. At the last second his arm had jerked and the throw went wild.

_Why?_

Jack frowned; he knew that he had perfect aim from throwing snowballs. So why did he miss?

"Frostbite!" shouted the Easter Bunny, jerking Jack back to the fight. The Easter Bunny's green eyes were narrowed. "Listen to me!" he shouted, "We're your _friends!"_

_Friends. _It was that word again, that _word. _Jack knew what it meant and knew that he and the Easter Bunny were definitely _not _friends, but at the same time his heart wouldn't deny it. In fact, 'friends' didn't seem wrong at all.

Jack's head hurt, but his heart hurt the most. He wanted all of the pain to go away, but most of all he wanted the quiet, he didn't want to have to listen to anyone anymore.

For the first time in over three hundred years, Jack wanted to be alone.

"Don't lie to me," Jack said between clenched teeth. The images exploded in his mind; of the time when the Easter Bunny laughed at him, mocked him when Jack was chosen as a Guardian, broke Pippa's grave stone...!

Jack could take the other stuff and not care, but the last memory was one that pushed him off the edge. Jack crouched low and launched himself towards the Pooka.

For some reason the Easter Bunny wasn't pulling out his boomerang, wasn't preparing himself to fight back. It struck Jack as strange, but at the same time he didn't care, wouldn't _let_ himself care.

His staff pulsed with energy in his hand, the cold laced up the wood and formed another sleek icy dagger. But this time, he wouldn't miss.

Behind him, hidden in the shadows, Pitch laughed and Jack just barely heard the words, "Do it."

* * *

On the ceiling, the spider waited. It had cast its web, perfected its trap. A thousand tiny black strings, so thin they were practically invisible, hung from the air like vines from the forest canopy.

The tiny black spider was in the center of the tangle of strands of black sand, patiently waiting. Its master, Pitch Black, had ordered it to stay and wait and though the spider itself had no conscious, it had enough will to understand _why. Why _it was ordered to wait, _why _it was ordered to make its complex web. The spider understood _why _it existed, _why _it was supposed to channel the nightmares.

It knew _why. _

It simply didn't care. The spider didn't have enough of consciousness to simply care or hold any sort of emotion. The spider was a tool of war, the bringer of the destruction. It was the messenger carrying the letter to begin the destruction, the one who watched the clock to see when to detonate the bomb.

Soon, that bomb would go off; it was only a matter of time to see who made it out alive.

Inside the web, the thousands of other spiders blinked their large, yellow eyes; they were all ready.

Every single one.

* * *

Bunnymund gritted his teeth. "Frostbite, stop this!" he shouted, just barely dodging a blast of snow. Ice had slicked the floor, and Jack's wild swings of his staff created large sculptures of jagged ice in the room. They almost looked like waves; harsh waves that were created to crush the shoreline.

_"Don't talk to me!" _

Suddenly another barrage of ice careened towards him; at the last possible second a large hand wrapped around his torso and tossed him out of the way. The wave of ice smashed into the wall and froze there permanently; it reminded Bunnymund of a deadly winter flower full of thorns and thistles that blossomed out of the wall.

He swallowed, then turned to North. "Thanks, mate."

North's voice was grim. "No problem."

"Oh, North... what are we going to do?" Tooth asked, nearly begged. She had given up fighting long ago; she just couldn't bring herself to even _consider _hurting Jack. After all, when she looked at his hollow blue eyes filled with anger, confusion and pain, she figured that Jack was the one who was hurting most of all.

In response, a picture of a band-aid appeared over Sandy's head in a whirl of golden sand, then a couple letters of the alphabet. He smiled.

"Brilliant, Sandy," Bunnymund exclaimed, getting to his feet. Jack was watching them, a look of unease on his face. _Why hasn't he attacked yet? _the Pooka wondered. _He had a perfect shot a couple seconds ago. _"So, Jack, how are you feeling?"

Jack's eyes widened, then narrowed into slits. "Don't pretend like you care about me."

"He's not pretending, Jack," Tooth said, hovering closer to him. "We're your _friends, _Jack. Remember? You helped me collect all of the children's baby teeth when Pitch Black attacked..."

Pain flashed in Jack's blue eyes. "Th- that's not true," he muttered. "I- _I...!"_

* * *

Sandy smiled and connected his golden sand with Jack. It wasn't enough to put the boy to sleep, though it would probably make the winter spirit feel tired, but the black sand that was already there contradicted that. After all, Sandy figured it all out; he knew how to help Jack. Right now most, if not all, of Jack's memories were charged with numbing fear - fear of the Guardians - thanks to the black sand that wove in his veins. Sandy didn't have to go back and alter every single memory; the confusion would be too much for the winter spirit.

No; he just had to go back and charge Jack's memories with not raw fear, but with _love_.

After all, love was the warmest and strongest emotion of them all.

* * *

Pitch smiled at the carnage playing out in front of him. Bunnymund's fur was cut up in places where the ice hit him. Tooth had hovered in the background the entire time, her face stricken with worry. North was fighting alongside Bunnymund, looking sick, and Sandy stayed back and simply _watched. _

Of course, none of the Guardians were aware of Pitch Black in the shadows. They attention was only focused on Jack, the youngest of the Guardians, the Guardian of Fun.

But right now, no one was having any sort of fun. Besides Pitch Black, of course. How he loved the taste of _fear _in the air; that sweet sweet taste of fear. It had been so long before he tasted that beautiful emotion, felt in boil in the air like an overheated tar pit. The fear was just as thick and, if anyone gave into their fear, it wouldn't be long before the fell under.

Right now, it was Jack who was closest to the edge. In a sense that should of surprised Pitch but, the more he considered it, the more it seemed possible. After all, Pitch toyed with Jack's memories to the point where the boy wasn't able to tell the good and bad memories apart. It was a soup; a soup where every ingredient was added and set to boiling.

Pitch smiled; Jack needed a simple _push _before he fell under. His gaze raised to the spider on the ceiling, simply waiting there like the good Fearling it was. Its purpose was simple; it was to wait until Pitch gave the order, then drop all of its midnight threads at one. Attached to each thread was a single spider.

The concept was simple enough, almost like that of a bomb; let the spiders of black sand fall and see who remained standing when the chaos was over.

That said, Pitch had it planned to make it so that _none _of the Guardians got out of this one with their minds. They would all turn into Jack; simple tools. Of course Pitch still needed his revenge.

He smiled in the shadows, wondering what Jack's expression would be when he realized he was the key that unlocked the door to his families utter destruction.

* * *

"And remember Jamie? You and Jamie had so much fun together, making snowballs and snowmen and..."

Jack couldn't focus on the words of the Tooth Fairy; he heard them but he didn't _understand _them. Who was Jamie?

Jack's mind struggled to remember. _I can't... remember..._

For some reason, that nearly drove Jack to the edge. He _had _to remember, had to remember this 'Jamie' because, for some reason, that named seemed incredibly important. Much more important than fighting, much more important than everything. He _had _to remember, had to...

Suddenly he saw it. It was dim and faded, it was shimmering and gold, but he saw the image. The wavering image was of a boy, with brown hair and brown eyes...

_Jamie?_

Of course it was Jamie - how could he had forgotten?

Jack took a deep breath; it felt like the first one he had ever taken. The air was chilled, the frost woven through the air like the most complex of fabrics. _How could I have forgotten?_

* * *

Sandy smiled; he did it. He won.

* * *

Pitch blinked, first in surprise, and then in horror. From the shadows he could see the dark bruise on Jack's neck beginning to fade, the pained look on the winter spirits face slowly changing to one of simple peace.

Pitch's hand clenched in a fist at his side.

_Unacceptable. _

From the shadows he turned towards the ceiling, to the spiders waiting there. _It's time, _he ordered the original spider. One by one the spiders of black sand began to dangle from their threads and fall, oh so delicately, to the stone floor below them.

Pitch smiled - this nightmare was just beginning.

* * *

_Gah. This chapter pained me. I rewrote the beginning like five times, deleted have of the chapter a couple times, and then couldn't think of anything better. :( So, sorry everyone._

_ That said, the end of this story is coming up. :) I'll keep the next couple of chapters long, keep the updates daily, and hopefully make you all proud! :D _

_ Until next time,_

_ Rand0mSmil3z_


	18. Chapter 18

_ Well, here is chapter 18. :) I wanted to upload this one today too, since I ended the last one at a cliffhanger and that's incredibly mean of me hahaha :D But anyway, this chapter was bitter-sweet for me; the beginning of the end is beginning. I give this story roughly three more chapters... maybe even less._

_ BUT THE STORY ISN'T DONE YET! :D So, let the carnage continue in chapter 18!_

* * *

The ice that laced the room sparkled in the dim lighting like a thousand diamonds, twinkling away like the stars hidden above the stone ceiling. The jagged ice jutted out of the walls, slicked over the floor like a hellish snow rink. Jack stood in the center, breathing in the frigid air rhythmaticly as if asleep.

Sandy dove through Jack's memories almost as if he was there. In one memory Jack, no older than eight, was tossing his baby little sister into the air. She was squealing with delight, her laughter echoing around the room.

In another memory Jack was pretending to be a reindeer. He was older now and putting on a small play for the younger ones, but they all looked so _thin. _Then Sandy realized; food must be scarce now that it was winter, and Jack was being silly to cheer all of the hungry children up. Sandy couldn't help but smile though his heart hurt to see the children hungry like this; Jack was always trying to cheer everyone up, no matter what.

That was the Jack that Sandy knew.

The other memories were much the same; Jack was always having fun, always teasing his younger sister yet always making her smile. But there was a hidden depth to Jack that few people seemed to recognize, a side of Jack that he didn't let anyone ever see. Because though Jack was always having fun, always surrounded by so many people, he seemed lonely.

That, Sandy couldn't understand. It was often to find children in dreams lonely, even those that were considered popular in their schools. Jack was always strong for his sister, strong for all of the other children in his tiny village. Who would be strong for Jack?

This Jack that was strong no matter what, kind no matter what, tried his best no matter what, loved his family no matter what.

Sandy gently smiled; soon he would make Jack remember who he really was.

* * *

Bunnymund arched an eyebrow at Jack; the winter spirit seemed to be frozen, golden sand weaving around him like the thin membrane of a cocoon.

"What's Sandy doing?" he asked Tooth, though he wasn't worried at all.

Tooth smiled, smiled for what seemed like the first time in a very, very long time. "Helping Jack remember himself again."

Bunnymund had nothing to say to that, so instead he turned back to Jack. The winter spirit's sapphire eyes were half closed, his mouth quirked in an absent-minded smile as the golden sand surrounded him. The bruise was fading away, and that fact alone filled Bunnymund with relief.

Things were finally looking up.

...

Pitch waited in the shadows, scowling at the scene playing out in front of him. He was too weak to attack the Guardians directly, especially with all of them right there at once. That said, why did Pitch have to fight alone?

From the shadows he turned to his spiders above. Thousands of yellow eyes blinked at him at once.

_Now, _Pitch ordered with a sly smile.

* * *

The spider waiting in the ceiling along with its thousand brother and sisters, all waiting patiently. Suddenly it felt the tug and it knew, simply knew, that it was time to begin.

Its purpose had finally come.

One by one the miniscule spider Fearlings dropped from the ceiling, their tiny black strings trailing behind them. Toothiana, Queen of the Tooth Fairies, was the first one to notice. She pointed to the ceiling, screaming something, but the spider didn't really care what.

It simply had to fall to the floor and bite someone, to inject them with raw fear. That was its one purpose, its only design, the reason for its existence. Whether it live or die, it would accomplish its goal.

It ignored the golden sand weaving through the air, ignored it when half of its fellow spiders were destroyed. It didn't care when twin swords killed off many of its brothers and sisters, didn't care when a boomerang decimated the front line. The spider only cared about the silver hair boy underneath it; the spider was drawing ever closer, slowly working its way down. There was a needle-like sword to its right, though the spider ignored it. The spider was so close, so close to its goal...

Suddenly the silver-haired boy looked up, sapphire eyes staring straight into the spider. The boy smiled... and the next thing it saw was white.

In a few short seconds, its existence was forever frozen in a spire of glassy, elegant ice.

* * *

"Jack!" Tooth shouted through the chaos. Spiders were falling from the ceiling; it almost looked like a piece of the night sky itself was crashing down on top of them. Yellow eyes blinked at her; one landed on her arm, but she flicked it off before it could bite her.

She had to get to Jack.

"Jack!" she shrieked again, using her needle-like sword to cut through anything around her. Her wings, sharper than knives, cut through anything else. She was confident when it came to her strength; after all, she was a Guardian too. Toothiana was the Queen of the Tooth Fairies, a title she earned.

Time seemed to slow; Jack turned to her, blue eyes impossibly wide before she saw him smile. Jack had a thousand different smiles, but she had never seen this one before. This one... this one was so sad, so apologetic that it nearly tore Tooth's heart.

Suddenly Jack turned away and began to run away, to disappear down the hall. If the Fearling spiders were falling, weren't obscuring her vision, she would have noticed that Jack was chasing a shadow that slipped down the wall.

But now - Tooth didn't see the shadow, didn't see Pitch trying to run away. She only saw Jack running, running away from her, and it nearly broke her heart.

_"Jack!" _Tooth cried out again, but it was too late - Jack was already gone.

Suddenly a hand wrapped around her small wrist. "We have to go!" North shouted. "Tooth!"

"No!" Tooth screamed, trying to get away. "Jack, we have to go to Jack...!"

"We will go to Jack!" replied North. "But right now we have to save ourselves!"

Tooth turned to him, wanting to protest, but when she saw the look in North's eyes all of the fight withered inside of her. North... North was hurting just as much as she was. "Okay," Tooth whispered, then quickly wiped her eyes. "Let's go," she said in a stronger voice. After all, the faster she got out of here, the faster she would be able to save Jack.

Suddenly a golden whip cracked next to her, splitting a spider in two. "Thanks Sandy," she breathed, hovering beside him.

Sandy saluted in response, a soft yet determined grin on his face.

"Let's go, mate," Bunnymund said. Tooth nodded and followed him down the hallways, through the crooked stairwells. She could hear the sound of the spiders behind her, could hear the crack of Sandy's whip and the hissing of Bunnymund's boomerang as it sailed behind her.

"We have to get to the surface!" Tooth shouted over the clamor. "Fearlings are weak during the day!"

"Well then," Bunnymund dryly grinned, "let's lure them to the surface. I didn't like this stone grave anyway."

* * *

_"You will never catch me," _Pitch whispered. He was a mere shadow on the wall and seemed to slip through every nook and cranny, which annoyed Jack to no end. He gritted his teeth, eyes burning as his feet left frozen footsteps behind him.

He remembered.

Jack remembered everything; he attacked Tooth, froze the Guardians, tried to _kill _them.

Pitch's laugh echoed around him. "I think this is far enough," the Nightmare King whispered. Without warning the shadows in the room condensed to the very center, then bubbled up like an infected wound, a boil, a balloon. Finally the boil burst and Pitch appeared from the inside, though the Nightmare King looked much better than the last time Jack saw him.

Jack scowled, balancing his staff evenly in both hands. Ice pulsed through the wood like a heartbeat.

Pitch grinned at him. "How does it feel to betray the ones you love?" he asked, hands outstretched. "How does it feel to try to kill your _family?"_

Jack narrowed his eyes. "You manipulated me. You _made _me...!"

"I made you do _nothing," _Pitch sneered. "I didn't force you to freeze the Guardians, did I? That was all _you." _Jack flinched. "That was actually quite unexpected," Pitch added as an afterthought. How he loved to see Jack in pain, such bitter pain, such _sweet _pain. "I never would have imagined that you would be so willing to attack your... family. But they don't consider you that anymore... do they?"

Jack swallowed hard and took a small step back. _They probably don't, _he realized, then remembered something that was told to him a long time ago, in front of two gravestones that were frosted with snow...

_"But you still have a family... you have us."_

Jack flicked his eyes back to Pitch; the Nightmare King's yellow eyes were watching Jack with an amused expression, the same expression a cat uses when toying with a mouse.

"But-" Jack whispered, "that doesn't mean I won't try to make things right."

* * *

Pitch blinked; the fear, the delicious _fear _was fading away.

_No! _he thought, taking a wavering step back. Jack took a step forward, his sapphire eyes colder than the frost he was famous for.

If Pitch only had a little more power, if he didn't _waste _his power making the spider Fearlings, he could have fought Jack. But now...

_But now, _he realized, _I am defenseless. _His only weapon were words, but Pitch was all too familiar with the saying that words cut through people like swords. Pitch would have rather had a real sword, preferably black and lethal-looking, but as of right now words would do.

"They probably hate you, you know," Pitch smirked at Jack.

But to his surprise, the winter spirit didn't even flinch. All he said was, "Probably."

Unease stirred in Pitch's chest. _If only I had a little more power... _All of the fear in the air had disappeared; there was the rock-hard determination of the other Guardians as the climbed to the surface, then the icy-cold acceptance of Jack Frost in front of him.

Pitch swallowed. "They will never consider you one of them," he added, taking another step backward. "Never."

Jack didn't waver. "I know I wouldn't," he said simply, voice flat. Suddenly there was a blur of motion and a gust of wind, and without warning the winter spirit appeared inches in front of Pitch's face.

Pitch fell back with a cry, landing heavily on the stone floor. Jack's staff, laced with frost, pulsed right in front of his nose.

At that moment Pitch knew that Jack wouldn't hesitate. Instantly fear clutched at Pitch Black; there was no future more bleak than knowing that he would be stuck in this stone cavern forever, frozen in time for the rest of eternity.

What good was the Nightmare King when no one feared him? What purpose would he serve, what would be the point of his existence?

He wouldn't be subjected to live in a _rock _for the rest of his life.

"Don't do it," the Nightmare Kind hissed.

Jack Frost blinked his sapphire blue eyes, then suddenly smiled. "Don't worry," he whispered, pulling the staff away. "I will never turn into you."

And with that the spirit of winter turned around and walked away. The temperature of the room dropped ten degrees, and the only testament that Jack was ever there was the frost lace gracefully laced the walls.

Pitch turned his head to the ceiling and screamed in frustration.

Everything he had been working for had been lost, crumbled away in a single moment.

The nightmare was over.

* * *

_Gah. This chapter was also painful to write, but a little less painful. _

_ Well, Jack is back! The next couple of chapters will warm and fuzzy to make up for the angst and depressing stuff I wrote. Geezums do I need a break from depressing stuff and fight scenes. Blarg fight scenes are painful. _

_ Anyway, like I said early, Eternity is drawing towards a close. :) Since I'm feeling a bit sad about it all, I just wanted to say thank you for all of the support, and the reviews and the fan art and the cover art and the comic, and omygoodness just everything in general. You're all awesome :D_

_ Until next time,_

_ Rand0mSmil3z_

_ :D Stay awesome!_


	19. Chapter 19

_It's December 24th, 2012- Merry Christmas everyone! And to everyone else that doesn't celebrate Christmas, then Happy whatever-you-celebrate! :D BUT this only means one thing! Everyone, Santa Clau-NORTH is coming tonight! Da big man is on his way! :D Am I staying up late? You bet'cha buckets I am! Eggnog (and mass quantities of coffee) all the way!_

_ And my laptop, of course (like the true dork I am) hahaha :) But, being Christmas and all, this is my present to you all! Pretend it's all wrapped up with pretty wrapping paper and a cute little bow or something xD _

_ Anyway, reply time. It's gonna be long because there are so many people I want to thank for sticking with me - and Jack - to the very bitter-sweet end. :) You're all so awesome!_

_ DrangonsFlame117: If I'm not mistaken, that '117' at the end of your user name is Master Chief status. But I could be wrong xD (sorry - dork moment!) Anyway, I read your review and realized how true that was. Poor Pitch :( He really does need a friend! _

_ daughterofthehunt: hahaha well done! :D_

_ VideoGamingFreak1213: I'll definitely write some more fanfic! :D Just probably not for RotG anymore - I'm thinking that Eternity will be the last one. :)_

_ Lightningpool: From the beginning of Humanity, it has almost been an entire month! :O But for two stories, that's not too shabby hahah :D Thank you for sticking with me to the very end! :D_

_ Crystal Peak: No worries :) I promised a happy ending - and I plan to keep my promise! _

_ Luna Moon Frost: Thank you for being a such amazing fan! :D :D :D But I probably won't write another RotG fanfic... maybe one-shots here and there though if people request them. But other than that, Eternity is probably going to be my last one - thank you for sticking with me to the end! :D _

_ luvnstuff15: Thank you for sticking with Jack through his many crisis's! (crisis's is spelt right, I promise. It just looks kinda awful). xD Anyway, I'm so happy that you like this story and I hope to make you proud! I wanna end this story with a _glorious _bang! :D :D :D_

_ NinjaStar777: Sorry for all of the awkward wordings! I write these up pretty quickly hahah xD When I get to college I'll *hopefully!* be able to take a few writing classes to improve! :D Anyway, I love your reviews so much! They're all so incredibly helpful! :D :D :D And I don't know how to fix the 16 / 18 chapter problem - maybe the website was just laggy or something? :/ Is it working now?_

_ Hatsu Yukiya: Ewww I remember that part from Harry Potter! Gah, those spiders were creepy. And in Lord of the Rings too (the third movie), that spider was also disgusting. And the webs. Gah. Gaaaaahhhh it was painful to watch!_

_ Told you it would be long! But that means a long chapter! :D This chapter is dedicated to all of you, every single one of you __**right now **__that's reading this! :D Time for chapter 19, last chapter of Eternity - Enjoy!_

_..._

Sunlight shone through the hole in the ceiling, illuminated a circle on the gray stones below. The air was stale, but every now and then a fresh breeze would freshen up the air.

Tooth swallowed hard, forced her tiny wings to beat all the fast. She was close; she could see the sunlight now, could feel its warmth on her chilled skin. The sun... she had almost forgotten how bright it was in the few hours she was underground.

She stretched out her feathered arm, splayed the fingers above her as if to grab the sun itself. She took a quick breath - half of the musty air and half of the crisp winter air of the mountains - and tore out of the hole in a green blur.

"Hurry!" she cried out to the Guardians below her. In her hand was her needle-like sword, prepared to wipe out all of the spiders that were inevitably about to poor out of the ground. The Sandman was next, hovering in the air on his golden cloud of sand. Then it was North and finally Bunnymund; the Pooka jumped out of the hole wide-eyed, boomerang held in his hand as if he was ready to club someone with it.

Tooth squinted her violet eyes, peered down the hole underneath the rickety wooden bed frame. But even as she watched the bed began to creak and groan, as if its weight was too much to bear. It chipped slightly, it cracked, and it finally fell apart just as the first of the spiders launched itself out of the dark hole, launched itself into the sunrise of the new day.

Time seemed to slow; Tooth had her sword ready, already streaking out of the canopy to pierce the tiny black spider. Yet just as her sword's tip grazed its head the spider disintegrated into a plume of black sand, then forgotten on the wind that lazily weaved its way through the winter forest.

Tooth blinked in surprise; the other spiders began to disintegrate, the nightmares and the fear inside of them lost forever. The black sand that rose on the early morning breeze was almost - Tooth hated to admit - beautiful. Almost like pieces of the night sky had broken off, crumbled away like the crust of stale bread, forgotten as they traveled around the world.

But, like the night sky, fear would never wholly disappear. But even at midnight the stars still shine and, if it wasn't for the night, the Man in the Moon would never be there to what over them in his entirety. Without fear there wasn't courage, without nightmares no one would know what it was like to dream.

Tooth sighed, closed her eyes as the sun stained the sky a rosy red and brilliant orange, chased the stars out of the sky like how shepherds herd their sheep. She had never noticed how fresh the air was, how nice the sun felt on her skin.

And for a moment, a brief moment, Tooth pitied Pitch Black, pitied the man that lived in the dark and the shadows that hid in the corners. Pitch would never be able to appreciate the sun, appreciate the light that drove his shadows away. Tooth turned away from the sky she loved back down to the hole in the ground.

The sky and that dark hole... though they were side by side, in that moment Tooth believed them to be miles apart. And as the other Guardians cheered their victory, as Bunnymund slapped North a high-five and Sandy smiled at them in his usual jovial way, Tooth turned her head back to the bright-colored sky and let a tear fall.

How sad it all was.

...

Jack idly kicked at a stray pebble and watched, half-amused, as it bounced off the wall and then careened down a nearby staircase. His footsteps were nearly completely silent, but it was more by habit now. The hollow echoes bounced off of the wall, the noise Jack's only companion. In his grip, his staff flared with the cool blue of life.

It was strange; it seemed as if it had been a lifetime since he last felt that steady pulse of energy in his hand. But now that he noticed it again, the throb of life seemed so _obvious, _almost as if his staff was happy.

_But that's not possible, _Jack scoffed at himself. _Pieces of wood don't have feelings._

Then his thoughts took a different turn; what was he going to do? No - what was he going to _say? _

It felt like Jack had swallowed a gallon of rocks, all of them at the exact same time. They weighed down his stomach, twisted around as if they were less rock and more dagger. The realization hit him hard; he just tried to kill his _friends. _His _family. _

_Maybe Pitch was right, _Jack thoughts, his gate slowing. _Maybe... the Guardian's won't accept me after all. _In the long three-hundred years Jack had been alive, he hadn't heard of any of the Guardian's attacking each other, let alone trying to kill each other.

Jack squeezed his eyes shut, stopping his stride completely. _Why did I do it? _he asked himself. Another part of him answered: _Because Pitch told you to. _

"And that's make me feel _so _much better," Jack muttered out loud, kicking another pebble. The sound of his voice felt strange in the stale dead air; it seemed louder than usual as it bounced off of the walls, practically obtrusive to his ears.

Jack resumed his walk and decided he had better not talk for a while.

So once again only his hollow footsteps were his companion. Eventually he could taste a fresh taste in the air, the crisp taste of new air, and finally the circle of light that danced on the stone floor. Jack swallowed hard, past the lump in his throat, and stopped in his tracks as if his feet had frozen to the floor.

His heart beat wildly in his chest like a caged animal struggling to free itself. _What should I say? _he thought, gripping his staff all the tighter. _Should I start off with sorry... or explain what happened... or..._

Jack took a deep steadying breath and turned his head back to the sunlight. Black sand weaved through it, but at the time it didn't look scary at all. Inside, the sunlight glinted off of the sand like hard onyx, and polished black granite shining like moonlight on the ocean. It wasn't the black sand that was evil; it were the intentions behind it, just like any weapon.

Much like how Pitch used Jack Frost.

Jack closed his eyes. _I'm not a weapon, _he thought. _I'm Jackson Overland Frost, _he added with a small smile, remembering his past. But no longer were the memories dark and dangerous, twisted and corrupted; no, these memories seemed warmer than before for some reason... not that he minded.

Jack opened his eyes once again, gathered whatever courage he had left, and let the wind carry him out of the hole underneath the broken bed.

...

Pitch sat on his throne, though it was slick from the multiple layers on ice that covered the hard stone. Frost laced through the air and up the walls, the constant reminder to how badly Pitch failed. Jagged ice sprouted out of the pale stone like deadly flowers, others curled up delicately like spring-time ferns.

It was the single-worst thing that Pitch had ever seen.

"Why?" he asked himself out loud. "Why?"

No one answered, only his echo.

But Pitch was expecting that. Instead he turned his head to the ceiling above him, reached up and cracked off the tip of another jagged ice piece. Inside the ice was one of his nightmare spiders, frozen over in the pale frost.

Pitch laughed at the irony; to think that his device to control Jack was controlled - and defeated - by Jack himself was a terrible, horrible joke.

Finally the echo of his laughter faded away, bounced off the gray walls and into oblivion. "Maybe... I should end game," Pitch thought out loud as he rolled the spider, forever frozen, in the palm of his hand. It was strange; giving up was a new concept to him.

_But not giving up, _Pitch realized.

_Simply moving on. _

...

Though Bunnymund was the first to shout Jack's name, Tooth was the first to reach the winter spirit. She wrapped her arms around him before he could say a word, before he could even take a quick breath to begin. Tears fell freely from her eyes now, tears created from polar-opposite emotions. Half of the tears she cried were because she was so happy Jack was alive; the other half were because she was sad, so sad an apologetic and upset, that this happened to Jack in the first place.

"I'm sorry," Tooth sniffed as they were lowered - either by the wind or her wings - to the snowy world below. "I'm so, so sorry Jack." And she was; if only she paid more attention to the winter spirit maybe this never would have happened. It were times like these where she looked back, saw what had gone wrong, and wondered if she could had prevented them. Wondered if she could learn from them and make the next couple centuries or so a little smoother.

In her arms, Jack laughed. It was a short laugh, a forced laugh, a laugh tore out from a constricting throat. "_You're _sorry?" he whispered, pulling away from her. "I'm sorry, I..." he turned to the other Guardians, all looking at him with wide eyes... almost as if they were seeing a ghost.

Jack nearly laughed - nearly laughed, but didn't. _But I just might be a ghost of the Guardian's end up killing me right here or something, _he thought, the irony biting into him.

North was the first to break the silent. In an instant the big man was in front of Jack, gripping the winter spirit's cold shoulders as if he was afraid Jack would slip away. "Are you all right?" he asked sternly, blue eyes piercing.

Jack bit his lip, eyes clouded over, and turned away. "I'm alright..." he mumbled, then turned to North with a different expression. His sapphire eyes were wide, almost desperate. "But... But I _attacked _you guys, I tried to kill you, I..." Jack lowered his gaze. "...I would have. I would have, a couple more seconds and...!"

"No you wouldn't have," North whispered, then suddenly had Jack in a tight bear-hug. Jack was nearly swallowed up in the embrace. "I_ trust _you, Jack. We all do."

"B-But I...!"

"But you nothing," North said with a grin, looking into the winter spirits eyes. "Jack," he said softly, "you did just fine."

Jack's breath hitched in his throat. _This wasn't supposed to happen. _But Bunnymund only nodded approvingly, Tooth was beaming at him, Sandy's soft smile encouraging. No - they were supposed to banish him, banish him forever, send him far away or kill him off completely. Jack made sure that his heart was frozen solid, to prepare himself.

He wasn't prepared for the warmth, the acceptance, the family love. No; for the first time, his frozen heart, the side of him that didn't care what everyone else thought about him, simply melted away.

Jack rushed to pull his blue frosted hood over his face, trying to hide underneath the cold fabric. He could feel North hugging him again... it reminded him of his father. And then Sandy was there, cheerful as could be, making tiny little golden snowflakes and exploding them like a firework celebration.

Tooth beamed; beamed to nobody and to everybody at the same time. Jack was alive, Pitch Black would leave them alone...

She couldn't imagine a happier ending.

"Group hug!" she shrieked, wrapping her small arms - or tried to, at least - around the whole gang.

Bunnymund nearly gagged. "Gah, no! Get away from me!"

And just like that; with Bunnymund struggling to get away from the laughing Tooth, from North shouting at them to not ruin the moment and Sandy grinning above him... to the snow on the ground sparkling like diamonds to the sky above painting a rainbow of warm colors, Jack wanted to freeze this moment. Freeze it solid so that he would away remember, forever, for an eternity.

_..._

_The End._

_..._

_ Well, this is the end guys. :) I have to admit, the ending really snuck up on me... didn't think this story would end so soon! _

_ Anyway. This will be my last full-in ROTG fanfic. :) Of course, I will take on requests for ROTG, but probably not a full-on chapter thing again (unless I'm struck by a moment of sheer brilliance but I don't see that happening so soon hahah) That said, thank you for sticking with me for this story! I hope you liked it - I'll try to add an epilogue, like I did with Humanity, but this time I'll try not to make so many people cry hahaha_

_ But honestly - I couldn't have asked for better readers! Thank you for all of the reviews, and the encouragements, and the kind words, and everything! These two stories - Humanity and Eternity - have been such a joy to write because of you all. :D On deviantart, in the group called Humanity-Eternity (search my username Rand0mSmil3z if you can't find it) is a collection of fanart and, yes, the beginnings of a comic. :D It's all so cool. So so so so incredibly cool!_

_ But anyway. I'll shut up so you can continue your day :D Thanks for reading!_

_ Until ... Whenever?_

_ Rand0mSmil3z_

_ :D_


	20. Epilogue

_Hmm... I realized after I posted the last chapter that I needed to write something about Jamie. :D And besides, after nineteen chapters of pure, glorious angst, I'm thinking this story needs some fluff. _

_ Merry Christmas everyone! :D :D :D Merry whatever-you-celebrate if you don't celebrate Christmas! Merry everything! :D _

_ (PS- I didn't stay up all night D: I feel asleep and totally missed North. But oh well - next year. xD) Well, here is the epilogue; it's going to be a shorty, but I hope you like it anyway!_

* * *

Snow fell lazily from the impossibly-blue sky only to melt during the decent. Spring had arrived at the small town of Burgess, made known by the tiny flowers poking through the ground and the springs of vibrant green grass that grew in between the cracks in the sidewalk and at the park. The air was still chill but it warmed up as the days went on.

Jamie sighed and thumped his head against his desk. _Homework. _His mom wouldn't let him go outside unless he didn't finish his homework and, to make everything that much better, he was grounded and Paranormal Activity 3 has been returned to his friend.

He looked up to his sled, forgotten as it leaned against the wall. _I wish it was snowing, _Jamie thought with a sigh.

As if on cue frost began to lace on the window, covering the thin pane with intricate swirls and designs.

At first Jamie was startled at first - what kind of weird weather phenomena was this? - when he realized what the frost _actually _was.

Jack.

"Jack!" Jamie shouted, throwing open the window. The cool air rushed inside, rustling the papers on his desk and messying his brown hair. "Jack, where...!"

"Boo!" said a voice above him, and Jamie jerked his head up to see Jack grinning down at him.

Jamie's grin widened. "Jack! Where have you been?!"

Jack lazily smiled as Jamie got out of his way and he swung inside the window. "Oh... working on stuff," the winter spirit shrugged, then turned back to Jamie with a mischiveous smile. "Hey - you workin' on homework?"

_Homework. _The mere mention of the cursed name flipped Jamie's smile. "Yeah," he said grumpily, plopping down on his desk again. "Do you happen to know algebra?"

"Is that the one with all of the numbers?"

"Yeah."

Jack laughed. "No," he said, looking at homework over Jamie's shoulder. "That looks awful."

"It is," scowled Jamie. "And mom won't let me go outside until all of my homework is done."

Suddenly Jack smiled, a mischievous smile that brought Jamie's own smile out. Without warning there was a gust of wind, and the papers sailed in the air and somehow landed perfectly in Jamie's open backpack. "Well," said Jack innocently, "that looks pretty done to me."

Jamie blinked at Jack, then burst out into a grin. "Yeah," he laughed.

"Then you wanna play a game?" Jack asked, excitement glowing in his icy blue eyes. He twirled his staff in his palm, something that he probably wasn't even aware of.

Jamie's smile widened. "Yeah!" he shouted, then grabbed a pair of mittens and threw on his jacket. "Race you downstairs!" he shouted over his shoulder.

Jack laughed. "You're on!" he shouted back. The air chilled where Jack slid down the stairs, and Jamie's boots clomped all the way down.

"What's the rush?" Jamie's mom asked. She was lounged on one of the sofa's, peering up at Jamie from above her magazine.

"A race, mom!" Jamie replied, throwing open the door. But Jamie's mom beat him there - Jack had always secretly believed that she was a ninja, or had eyes on the back of her head or something.

She plucked a scarf off a hook near the door.. "Well, it's a bit chill today. Don't let Jack Frost go nipping on your nose," Jamie's mom said sternly, wrapping the warm fleece around Jamie's neck.

Jamie turned to Jack, who was already outside coaxing the snowflakes too fall all the way to the ground. The winter spirit glanced at Jamie, blue eyes full of excitement, and smiled wide as the snowflakes began to fall.

"Don't worry mom," Jamie said, turning back to his mother with a grin. "I won't."

* * *

_Told you it would be short. :) But Jamie needed to show up again; it felt wrong just having the poor kid appear only in the first chapter and drop off the face of the earth after that. I tried to connect it to the movie a little bit and connect it to the story too... hopefully I succeeded at that hahaha :D_

_ Anyway, while it's true that this story will probably be my last full-on RotG story (I can't think of any other ideas haha) I will take on some requests :D _

_ Well -time to mark off this story as 'Complete'. :D Thank you all for reading. _

_ Rand0mSmil3z_


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